Farm organisations are gearing up for what could be a showdown tomorrow (Friday, December 15) when the Agriculture Water Quality Working Group meets to discuss 20 recommendations put forward by a government-appointed group which focuses on "nitrates".

The recommendations have been drawn up by the Nitrates Expert Group (NEG) which is jointly chaired by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH) and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

The group is made up of "senior scientific experts" from DHLGH, DAFM, and also includes technical experts on water quality and agriculture from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Teagasc.

its main job is to "provide scientific advice" to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine on measures to "protect water quality and the environment against pollution from agricultural nutrients".

It is understood the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, contacted members of the Agriculture Water Quality Working Group today (Thursday, December 14) to ask them to discuss the 20 recommendations put forward by NEG at its meeting tomorrow morning.

Minister McConalogue is understood to be "very keen" that the Agriculture Water Quality Working Group also puts forward its own ideas on how to "prevent pollution of surface waters and groundwater from agricultural sources and improve water quality".

The group includes the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association (ICSA), the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA), the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA), Macra, Irish Natura and Hill Farmers’ Association (INHFA), the Irish Grain Growers and representatives from DAFM, DHLGH and Teagasc.

However, some of the 20 recommendations that have been made by the Nitrates Expert Group are likely to be met with hostility by members of the Agriculture Water Quality Working Group particularly in relation to bringing more farms under the new stocking rate limit on derogation farms of 220kg nitrogen (N) per hectare.

The NEG has recommended that the new stocking rate is "also applied to the nitrogen reduction measure areas on the EPA Targeting Agricultural Measures Map" - which identifies areas where measures "are required to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus/sediment and ammonium losses to water".

These areas are highlighted in the map below:

Other key recommendations put forward by the NEG include that:

There should be a further 10% reduction in the maximum allowable chemical nitrogen fertiliser application rates for grassland should apply from January 1, 2024 on all farms with a grassland stocking rate over a 170kg N/ha;
Landowners should be required to report slurry exports from farms closer to real time. DAFM should ensure that this export data is provided centrally to local authorities no later than the next working day;
To mitigate against short-term rented land being used as “map acres”, short-term rented land claimed under Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) Scheme that is more than 30km from the main farm holding, should have a maximum stocking rate limited to 170 kg N/ha;
With regard to concentrate feedstuff fed to bovines aged two years and over between April 15 and September 30, the current maximum crude protein content is 15% on holdings with grassland stocking rates of 130 kg N/ha. This maximum crude protein content should be reduced from 15% to at most 14%;
A restriction on the use of straight urea should apply, but with provision for urea in liquid form to be retained. This restriction should apply from January 1, 2025 to allow a lead in time;
For tillage farms the shallow cultivation requirement should be enhanced through schemes to establish a cover/catch crop as part of post-harvest cultivation practice;
DAFM should consider how best to track slurry movement using GPS technology;
To enable the accurate calculation of nutrient surpluses, an animal feed sales/import database is required in addition to the National Fertiliser Database;
Local authorities should be adequately resourced to undertake at least 4,500 targeted water quality risk-based farm inspections per annum as part of the National Agricultural Inspection Programme, led by the EPA;
A subgroup should be set up under the NEG to specifically undertake modelling on the impacts of agriculture and the Nitrates Action Programme (NAP) on water quality;
Farmers should be notified about ongoing Teagasc research regarding the production of soiled water and slurry at farm level across a number of farming systems and that this research will form the basis for a review of slurry and soiled water storage capacity requirements in preparation for Ireland's sixth NAP.