A lot of attention has been drawn to the draft proposal for the Nitrates Action Plan (NAP), particularly around the issue of soiled water storage.
Earlier this week (Monday, September 6), a webinar discussing the draft proposal was hosted by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
Department officials, alongside David Wall and Laurence Shalloo of Teagasc, were asked questions by farmers regarding the draft proposal.
One question which would have been on the minds of many farmers, particularly dairy farmers, is whether or not there would be a requirement to cover open yards – like a collecting yard – and topless cubicles.
On my travels, I have spoken to many farmers who have put plans in place to cover such tanks and cubicles, as they fear it will become mandatory to do so.
Officials at the webinar were asked about storing soiled water and whether yards and topless cubicles need to be roofed, and furthermore whether an outdoor slatted tank is considered to be covered.
Jack Nolan from the DAFM said: “No you don’t have to cover them [open yards or topless cubicles] and a slatted tank is considered to be covered.
“The whole idea here is to reduce ammonia losses and one of the questions I saw was, ‘why is ammonia considered in this?’ [NAP] and the reason for this is to reduce nitrogen losses.
“If we can keep the nitrogen in the slurry we get more value from it. Spreading slurry is costing you €55 an hour for a tanker and more for an umbilical cord system.
“So we want to keep the nitrogen in the slurry and reduce the need for expensive chemical fertiliser on farms.”