The open period will come into place for farmers in Zone C to spread fertiliser, slurry and farmyard manure, as of tomorrow, Saturday, February 1, according to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
The counties in Zone C are as follows: Cavan; Monaghan; Leitrim; and Donegal.
Zone C is the last of three ‘prohibited application period’ zones to open in the country – all of which closed for the spreading of chemical fertiliser spreading on September 15 and organic fertiliser spreading on October 15.
Zone A opened to farmers on January 12 while Zone B opened three days later on January 15.
As the final zone opens, farmers should be mindful of the weather forecast and are being advised to make the most of a dry spell when it comes, but watch out for heavy rainfall and poor ground conditions.
Slurry is the cheapest form of nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potassium (K) on farms. Slurry should be spread where grass covers are low and on soils deficient in P and K.
Finally, farmers are reminded to make sure to use a protected urea or urea product when spreading chemical fertiliser this spring; this will minimise the risk of N leaching on farms.