The CEO of Tirlán has said that there is a “strong case for investment” to assist farmers affected by the cut in the nitrates derogation to transition to managing their farm businesses.
It was confirmed this week that that the European Commission would not revisit or revise any part of Ireland’s nitrates derogation that was renewed last year.
This renewal of the derogation came with the requirement that, if water quality had not shown sufficient improvements by this summer, the upper limit of the derogation would be reduced in the areas of the country were water quality was not improving.
Currently, the derogation allows farmers to farm beyond the standard limit of 170kg of nitrogen (N) per hectare, up to 250kgN/ha. In large parts of the country, this is set to be reduced to 220kgN/ha.
A large number of dairy farmers that are in derogation are set to see significant financial ramifications from this reduction.
Speaking to Agriland at the Agricultural Science Association (ASA) Conference 2023 yesterday (Thursday, September 7), Tirlán CEO Jim Bergin said that the changes required on-farm by its members would likely require investment.
He said: “Because of the complexity of what farmers are trying to cope with here, I think there is a very strong case for investment in the human transition and the business transition that farmers have to make.”
“I think that, at the outer end of it, there is a very strong diversified farming model that will exist in Ireland, but we have to get there and try to make that as painless as possible for farmers, which his about giving them certainty, understanding what their issues are, and recognising the progress that they’re making.
“That’s an old transition management approach, but I think there is a requirement for an investment in resources to do that,” Bergin said.
He added: “In Tirlán we will lead that for our own farmers. We have 5,000 farmers that are tied up in this. We will lead our farmers by providing advice by listening to them and engaging with them, and to help them through this.”
According to Bergin, this 5,000 figure includes 4,300 dairy farmers and 700 grain farmers.
The dairy suppliers, he said, are currently completing a census, which will be used to inform decision on how to deal with the change in derogation in the areas it will be reduced.
“We do this census every few years. We will have over 80% completion by our farmers, and then we will have a huge bank of fact, and sentiment from farmers, and we will develop our plans on the basis of that,” he told Agriland.
He described the development this week as “a negative step for our farmers on the way towards sustainability”.
“I’d be very sympathetic today to our farmers because they are absorbing this change,” Bergin said.
“If I was being very cold I’d say we’ve known this for a long stretch of time. Back well into last year the odds on it happening were very high. But at the same time if you’re trying to run a business and plan a business, and you’re not sure, and there’s always a chance, and they might have deferred it, the finality [of the decision] is making it very hard.
“I would say there were some soundings that this might take a little bit longer, and that there were processes to be gone through; and the fact that it has come out now, from a timing point of view, is a shock, but not necessarily from the point of view of whether it was likely to happen,” he added.
Bergin said that Tirlán was “doing all we could in the background to try and prove the capability of our farmers to deliver on water quality”.
“The results weren’t there to be quite honest. We have stabilised water quality but we haven’t made enough progress in terms of improving it. So from that point of view, if you look at the cold facts, I would say our hand in Europe was very weak,” the Tirlán CEO said.