The soiled water closed period has now been lifted, which means that all milk suppliers can commence with spreading soiled water on the land.
A closed period was in place from December 1 until December 31 for spring calving herds, and was in place from December 10 to December 31 for winter milk suppliers.
This may relieve some pressure on the gathering yard tanks for many farmers, as it means that farmers can now once again spread soiled water, once conditions are suitable for spreading.
Soiled water is defined under sub-article two of Article 4 of the European Union (Good Agricultural Practice for the Protection of Waters) Regulations 2022, (S.I. 113 of 2022, as amended).
This year (2025), the closed period will begin on December 1 for all suppliers including that of winter milk suppliers.
Farmers with winter or liquid milk contracts were not obliged to this regulation in 2024, but will have a year to meet the 31-day requirement for December 1, 2025.
Soiled water
Soiled water is water that has been collected from the milking parlour, collecting yards, unroofed temporary holding yards, washing beet or machinery, and runoff from silage bases.
Soiled water includes water from concreted areas, hard standing areas, holding areas for livestock, and other farmyard areas where such water is contaminated by contact with any of the following:
- Livestock faeces or urine or silage effluent;
- Chemical fertilisers;
- Washings such as vegetable washings, milking parlour washings or washings from
mushroom houses; - Water used in washing farm equipment;
- If soiled water is stored together with slurry, then as far as the regulations are concerned it is slurry, and is subject to the same rules as slurry.
Within the regulations, soiled water does not include any liquid with a biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) exceeding 2,500mg/L, or a dry matter (DM) content exceeding 1% (10 g/L).
Wash down water which becomes lightly contaminated with livestock faeces/urine in the milking parlour is still considered to be soiled water, according to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
However, when wash down water enters into the slurry storage tanks, it is still deemed to be slurry and must comply with with slurry storage and spreading regulations.
Usually, the volume of parlour washings produced on farm is 30L/cow/day or 0.21m3/week, or if your collecting yard doesn’t have a roof over it, which is the case for many farmers, the storage requirement may be 40L/cow/day.
Farmers should make sure that their soiled water tanks and slurry tanks are completely separated and that all slurry and water are going into the appropriate tanks to get the most out their storage facilities and to save them running tight on space for 2025.
Slurry
Although the closed period for soiled water has now ended, the closed period for slurry is still in place, and will be until the end of the month in some areas.
The closed period for slurry remains in place until January 12, for Zone A; January 15, for Zone B; and January 31 for Zone C.
Slurry in some tanks mightn’t have been touched for a number of months, so farmers should be on high alert when mixing and spreading in the coming weeks
Safety guidelines when agitating and spreading slurry is as follows:
- Agitate on windy days;
- Remove all livestock and control pets;
- Open all doors and control access;
- Agitate/ventilate and stay away for 30 minutes;
- Work upwind at all times;
- Do not enter tanks – even when empty;
- Keep tank openings secure at all times;
- If possible, avoid agitating alone.
Even though the slurry closed period is being lifted in the next couple of weeks, if farmers are not tight on space, they should not go rushing emptying tanks and instead, try and pick and choose the days that are most appropriate for spreading to get the best out of their slurry.