A number of updates to the regulations around agitation points have been made by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
Delivering these updates at the Irish Farm Buildings Association conference this week was Dr. Robert Leonard from the DAFM.
“There has been a number of updates to s123 which can be seen in red text in the document on the DAFM website,” he said.
“The changes to regulations in agitation points is going to have the biggest impact in terms of a design point of view, and even from a construction point of view.
“Agitation points cannot be located under the overhang of a shed. We have always said that they [the agitation points] must be outside the building and we are clarifying that now in the specifications.
“The overhang is part of the building so it can’t be located underneath it.”
Agitation/extraction points shoul be located so that the slurry tanker does not have to pass over any slats while the tank is being emptied, Dr. Leonard explained.
“You shouldn’t be driving over slats with a slurry tanker, even on heavy duty slats, on a regular basis. They aren’t going to last very long in that case and it’s a safety issue as well,” he said.
“Where an agitation point is located between the sides of two buildings, there shall be a minimum of 6m clear space between the two buildings, including between any roof overhangs.
“This is to ensure good air movement around where you are operating when you are agitating and extracting slurry from a tank.
“Agitation points shall, as a general rule, not be placed in an unroofed animal area. This has come a up a bit for example where there are large unroofed slatted areas, such as an outdoor slatted cubicle area.
“If there is an agitation point in these areas it is not going to last. If there isn’t a strong reason for one to be located inside one, we aren’t going to accept it.”
This follows up on regulations that are already in place which say that there should not be any access points installed inside any houses and that full external agitation shall also be provided for in all designs involving the conversion or extension of existing buildings.
Furthermore, where an existing building is being extended or converted and there is an internal agitation point, then this should be removed. All necessary work shall then be done to allow for full external agitation of the existing building.
The DAFM said that if it is deemed absolutely necessary for an agitation point to be placed in an unroofed animal area, full details of the reasons for this should be submitted to the DAFM for acceptance before grant-aid approval can be issued.
The documentation submitted should include a detailed farmyard plan showing the dimensions of all buildings, the location and dimensions of all tanks and the distance between all buildings.
Further, the documentation should include a detailed written explanation of the reasoning for the agitation point to be included in the unroofed animal area.
External agitation points are defined as being outside of the roofed area, including outside of any canopy or overhang of a building.