Sprays next to go?

hopeso

Did anyone get the Journal this week? I just saw the headline in the shop, saying that most sprays will be banned in Ireland in 2024 because Ireland is designated as 'something' by the EU. What's the chance of that happening?

who what when

Environmentally, it's hard to think of a single measure that would have as much of a benefit as banning pesticides. So I for one would welcome it.

Birdnuts

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058269514/sprays-next-to-go

Currently its a "Discussion Document" so is likely to be well watered down by the time it sees the light of day in actual legislation across the EU. Bit of a click bait element to the way IFJ designed the headline compared to the content, a bit like the retraction made by your man from Copa Cogeaca concerning rewetting peatland soils, whose previous utterances in front of a Dail commitee were picked up as gospel on the subject by elements of the farming press last week

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119806248#Comment_119806248

Have you got a link to these retractions?

Never mind, found it.

wrangler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119806227#Comment_119806227

You've very little knowledge of food production when you say that, yields of crops would be decimated without pesticides.

When the EU refer to pesticides they include fungicides and herbicides as well, I wouldn't like to have to grow potatoes without fungicide

patsy_mccabe

Remember 1.5 million people wouldn't have starved to death in 1847 if there was a spray for potatoe blight.

alps

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119806227#Comment_119806227

It would be some injection for the livestock farmers of Ireland. The end of vegetables and cereals. Probably reduce the population of the world by 50%

dzer2

Ah lads sure there's no spray in the supermarket so y would ye need them

wrangler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119807298#Comment_119807298

Good one....sure don't you know that milk comes from a carton

K.G.

Not a tree hugger by any means but i hate using insecticides my self.i d be very lonesome for grazon 90 if it wzs to go

Siamsa Sessions

Would sprays be banned for county councils, gardeners, and other recreational users?

Kite-flying and click-bait at its worst.

Oh, and milk doesn’t come from supermarkets. I heard a couple of teenagers talking last week and one of them said milk comes from Deliveroo

amacca

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119807256#Comment_119807256

Remember if the brits had given us more than one variety of potato there might have been a more blight resistant variety (or not given us one at all) and later didn't export all the other food out of the country so our population would get to a level where numbers were balanced with resources a la malthus we may have had no need of any sprays.....food was being exported out of the country as people starved to death.

Sorry, I know the comment was made in the context of what was being discussed in this thread so not having a pop and accept the point banning all sprays would not be feasible in terms of food production etc but I've been doing a bit of reading about the famine lately....

amacca

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119807539#Comment_119807539

Delivermoo! Surely

Sorry, I'll leave now. (Not a bad name for a new milk delivery business though)

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119807539#Comment_119807539

i know dublin city council have significantly cut back on the use of herbicide (i've a friend who works in the parks department).

though as to recreational use of glyphosate, don't do drugs, kids...

wrangler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119807688#Comment_119807688

Public service cannot be compared to private enterprises, we can't afford the costs and labour that councils etc throw at projects, no comparison

Reggie.

I'd say it's a front to getting a spray register in like the fert. Be total control over the sprays then which would be a good thing. Talk of the spraying case having to be done every 2 or 3 years aswell to keep current.

Also talk of every sprayer to be registered to be used

magicbastarder

my main issue with sprays is the 'to a man with a hammer' effect. people mix up a spray and then think 'sure i've mixed this up, so i'll spray everything now'. e.g. houses where someone has decided to spray the ditch between the garden and the road, so there's no roots left and the soil just slowly slides down into the ditch.

who what when

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119807180#Comment_119807180

I'm well aware yields would be massively impacted. At a guess they'd be cut by something like 70%. It would be carnage in terms of food production.

But that wasn't my point. My point was with regard to the environment which would reap the benefits but of course you completely ignored that.

anthony500_1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119807688#Comment_119807688

Galway city council are the same. They have just invested in a steam foam spray machine that uses steam and a special natural foam to kill off weeds instead of roundup. Be interesting to see how long it would take to do any substantial area with it

blue5000

Anyone else think the timing for this is a little odd? Like when the powers that be are 'encouraging' us to go organic with the big €256m carrot.

As birdnuts said above, it was your man from Copa Cogeaca last week, with his 20%, this week it's a total ban on pesticides (and interest rate hikes). Anyone care to guess what next week's topic is?

Grueller

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119808423#Comment_119808423

It takes very little to tip the balance between excess food and not enough. If Europe drastically cuts production, by 70% as you quote, what will that do to food prices? Are the general public willing to bear this?

The 2 points cannot be exclusive of each other.

Birdnuts

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119807539#Comment_119807539

There's certainly a strong argument to restrict non-agri uses, the over use and mis use of the likes roundup by CCs, Landscape companies etc. is rampant across the countryside with much damage to ditches, trees and riparian zones, leaving vast sterile zones that eventually either erode large amounts of soil or become infested with invasive herbicide resistant weeds like Maretail, Hymaland Balsam etc.

GNWoodd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119809362#Comment_119809362

Most County Councils have cut herbicide usage significantly . Two points on this ;

Are ratepayers/ taxpayers prepared to up their rates / taxes to compensate for the extra labour involved in keeping the public areas tidy ? Probably not .

There seems to be a huge interest in what Councils use while ignoring private use which is completely unregulated . No training , no records , no knowledge whatsoever in a lot of cases .

Birdnuts

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119808423#Comment_119808423

Total elimination of pesticides use at this point is obviously not viable - however we need to look at significantly reducing usage in many areas cos issues like water contamination, pest resistance, soil degradation, mass bee and pollinator die offs etc. around the world are only getting worse and r significantly damaging the sustainably of future food production, the health of farm families in third world countries were sprays long banned here are still used etc.. Hopefully new tech like drones etc. in the near future can help with this by removing the need to blanket apply the likes of sprays to control aphids by much more precise and targeted applications.

Birdnuts

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119809722#Comment_119809722

Excessive and narrow ideas of "Tidyness" are part of the problem here, which is why it is good to see more and more CCs leaving "Pollinator Friendly" areas in parks, around Civic buildings etc. that only need to b cut once or twice a year. No point in Government declaring the likes of a "Biodiversity Crisis" without showing at least some leadership on the matter

RockOrBog

I've noticed a big time resurgence of the wild bees here since the pesticide for leatherjackets (crane fly larvae) was banned. This year I saw a wild bees hive for the first time in maybe 30 years.

The use of the likes of MCPA would be a major loss here though.. Surely a more targeted approach is needed.

Lime Tree Farm

No shortage ever of vicious ones around here. I give them a wide berth, will pitch on you if you inadvertently come anywhere near them. A new neighbour spoke to me about a hive that's near his home and children. I wondered afterwards if he was holding me responsible if they stung members of his family. I told him I would seal it up in December, to let them be for the time being.