Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has appealed to farmers to help protect Ireland’s rivers and lakes from agricultural pollution during the silage season.
According to the IFI, its staff carried out almost 2,000 inspections in agricultural settings in 2022.
It said that livestock manure and other organic fertilisers, silage effluent, and soiled water are “highly damaging substances”, and on entering a watercourse can “kill fish and severely impact their habitats”.
Barry Fox, head of operations at IFI said: “We continue to secure successful convictions for agricultural pollution of waters, and breaches of legislation.
“We encourage farmers to work with IFI, and other statutory agencies, to prevent water pollution incidents from occurring.
“We ask farmers to take all possible precautionary measures over the current silage season to stop any harmful run-off flowing into Irish rivers, lakes, streams or the sea, over the summer months.”
Fox added that agricultural pollutants can cause an “increase in excessive nutrients” which drastically reduce oxygen content in the water and create fish kills.
He said that when rivers are at a low level in summertime, even a “small leak can cause huge damage”.
He advised that maintenance of silage pits and slurry storage facilities is essential to ensure that accidents do not happen.
IFI six-point silage plan
IFI has created a six-point SILAGE plan for optimum silage and slurry spreading etiquette to reduce the risk of polluting rivers and lakes.
It is advising farmers to follow the plan:
S – Spread slurry during dry weather only, and never when a period of heavy rain is forecast;
I – Investigate if silage pits are properly sealed to prevent the entry of water, and/or if there is leakage from underneath the slabs;
L – Lead slurry away from a watercourse when working the land. Be aware of the slope of the field, and respect the buffer zones near a river, lake, stream or shoreline;
A – Avoid cleaning slurry tankers/spreading equipment close to a stream, river or lake;
G – Generate good yard cleaning hygiene – to curb effluent and soiled washings from inadvertently flowing to a watercourse;
E – Engage with the statutory requirements by ensuring that adequate storage capacity for slurry, soiled water, and silage effluent, meet the regulations.