Tirlán suppliers in the Slaney catchment area could receive a minimum of €650 for taking positive water protection actions, as part of a new water European Innovation Partnership (EIP).
The project is aimed at enhancing the water quality of the River Slaney, which runs through counties Wexford, Carlow and Wicklow.
The supports and payments were outlined at a discussion group meeting, attended by over 30 farmers in north Co. Wexford.
The discussion group meeting on Alan and Cheryl Poole’s family farm is the first in a series of action-driven gatherings of farmer suppliers on the River Slaney.
The catchment was previously highlighted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) water testing programme as a “catchment of concern”.
The measures available under the new project includes: Additional fencing for bovine exclusion from water bodies; Farmyard sediment collection tank; Spatially targeted riparian buffer zones; and Riparian buffer zones.
It also includes the planting of: Catch/cover crops; Trees; Hedgerow establishment; and multi species swards.
Teagasc regional manager, Ger Shortle, said there are water quality challenges in the area due to a number of factors, including free-draining soil.
“The big, vulnerable period for tillage is from when crops are cut to February time.
“The use of cover crops is crucial over this period to significantly take up Nitrogen. Approximately half of farms in Wexford have some tillage and we will be driving hard on the cover crop issue to give us a quick response,” Shortle said.
Head of agriculture sustainability at Tirlán, Thomas Ryan said that the retention of Ireland’s nitrates derogation has been identified by suppliers in a Tirlán census as a “key concern”, particularly when making investment decisions on-farm.
“We decided as a 100% farmer-owned co-op not just to be spectators in the ongoing discussions around the retention of the derogation,” Ryan said.
“We have focused on six key areas – slurry storage, improving on-farm nutrient use, improving milk solids, our carbon footprint, biodiversity and on-farm critical source areas.
“We know that by focusing on these core areas we can enhance on-farm economic and environmental performance,” Ryan added.
He urged farmers in the catchment to get in touch with the Farm Support Service team and avail of the support, technical guidance and information.