Maybe years ago there was a slow release of nutrients whereas now a lot of slurry gets spread over a couple of short windows ( mid jan, end may ). Maybe this year with price of fertilizer there seems to be a change to little and often approach. Just to say plenty of other sources outside agriculture ( septic tanks for one off houses being a lot bigger issue than gets mentioned with all modern chemicals a household uses these days ) but we can only improve what we can. Getting acknowledged for improvements is another matter
I thoroughly agree. FAIR and sensible regulations. Both sides pointing the finger of blame is not a solution. Meanwhile things continue to ‘go the wrong way’…
I’m on record here saying that fighting methane emissions is a hill I’d be prepared to die on, and if the authorities insist on reducing cow numbers, fair and sensible compensation should be offered.
Using whatever excuse de jour to continue polluting is not on.
The Dutch are now using the argument that if abortion is allowed…
When I was talking about producing milk efficiently I meant diet wise.
I hear ya and agree.
It's just annoying when lads with a horn for gene editing use any excuse to claim it's needed. They're only going on what those selling gene editing are saying (scientists and private consultants) so what are the chances they have studied the science themselves and have a good understanding of the long-term benefits or risks?
My philosophy is the less one interferes with nature the better. IHFA don't accept any cloned animals.
The more you do. The more is expected.
We are right up there at the top in Europe for water quality. And it's through local investigation and remedial work that issues are solved.
We're seeing dates changed on slurry storage. We're seeing feckin everything stricter. You take even dung heaps on field. In the UK they can leave it to compost for years. Here it has to be gone before the cut off date every year.
It's publicity for taisce. Even the promo photo for the online link. Was of a Ukrainian dairy cow standing in the water. All for non farming eejits in this country.
More can and is being done. Knowledge is scant getting to farmers imo though.
But it's a sledgehammer approach just because they like to show the power of those weilding that sledgehammer.
The Capo doesn’t seem to think so.
Well they can't say that RTE irish media piece above was negative reporting.
Who'd be a farmer.
I would say its stretching a bit to say that slurry storage has kept up with cow number expansion since the quotas went - especially when you see it being fired out in the depths of January or prior to heavy rainfall events. In any case its up to the industry itself to rid itself of the cowboys who don't adhere to even basic requirements on nutrient management cos their actions are largely behind the ever tightening of rules in this area, which ultimately affects all farmers.
Ah he’s only using ye olde strawman argument Birdnuts, and well he knows it.
It’s beyond my comprehension why there’s such a stubborn, almost singleminded, pushback against the inevitable when doing the right thing is by far the easiest thing to do.
I do wonder,is it because they’ve borrowed heavily on the assumption that they can mine the environment as long as they like? Pile on the cows and it’ll be grand kinda thing? I dunno.
Following the Teagasc/Govt advice you mean?
More like the farm has to make an income and can’t rely on a family business to pay for land or farm for a hobby
This is how the MEN do it. https://www.facebook.com/100008968320860/videos/343778284583184
I couldn’t care less what anyone does or whose advice anyone follows. I’m just pointing out that Teagasc/Govt advice on conversion and expansion might be correct in one narrow dimension but their primary goal was increased exports not farmer income or environmental impact.
This is what commissioner McGuiness thinks of derogation.
So everybody thinks that derogation farmers are very highly stocked. Meanwhile there are farmers with double the stocking rate and not in derogation at all. Time to diversify out of farming I'd say.
It is funny how we ve had early 20 years of nitrate regs and vast improvement in slurry handling facilities and massive improvement in practice s and less animals than before yet water quality is supposed to be deteriorating.there is absolutely no doubt that 95 % of farmers are now making a fair stab at doing the right thing whereas going back the years it was slurry spreading year round,open yards ,silage made in fields,outwintering and strip grazed crops and every yard used to have a green streak down the hill from it and everybody was doing it.thats the way things were.so if even there is still a few renegades how come water quality is deteriorating if we have moved from a stage that everyone was doing it to a stage where only a few are at it.now in the mean time have increased the population of the country by 30 or 40 %?.you would wonder.edit I was think since how much closing the beet industry must have helped water quality,there used to be massive problems with soil erosion during the beet campaign
On the whole nitrates /derogation thing the issue is not with dero farmers vast vast majority of them have ample storage are using likes of less slurry your protected urea’s have buffer zones that aren’t spread ,waterways and rivers fenced etc
the big issue and not singling them out is non dero farms and specifically the ones near and above 170 who export slurry😉😉😉😉on paper just to remain out of dero lots of these don’t have adequate storage either
It's eutrophication of estuaries that's going to cause is to drop to 220kg in 2024. Overloading of nitrates on the milking platform being a big contributor. Nobody willing to grasp that nettle so we all have to suffer.
In some cases that’s a big issue I know of 2 farms locally one with about 170 on 37 acres and another with about 200 on 50 constantly drawing grass and slurry .
Tillage is the cause in this area but no one is willing to call it out. Ploughing right up to the rivers, no cover crops. Hedges cut to the bone the minute the combine leaves
That's shocking to be honest and the lads trying to do things right are going to suffer
The area you post of is the worst in the country for nitrates.
Now teagasc are to be fair holding workshops on trying to encourage min till, riparian zones. But it's p1ssing in the wind.
I've a sneaky feeling there's agronomists that have the ear of those that shout loudest in the press and social media, the an taisce boys and gals. And they've them convinced to look at the cows and away from themselves. Meanwhile they're still ploughing away, near zero riparian zones, 1st of December or even before the plough is out to get that winter till.
It drives me nuts. And there's others want to push more farmers that way. There's hills lately should of never been ploughed. And ditches cut out of season at night. Getting away with murder. And it's still the worst in the country.
There's no equity.
It is but there’s nothing that says what there doing is wrong ….on paper anyway regardless of wether they have the support blocks that can’t be allowed continue even looking over the ditch grass looks sour and never cleaned out due to the huge nos of cows on a small area ……don’t know how it’s stocking up this year as hauling grass and slurry is huge cost
They're grand once they wouldn't have a water trough beside a waterway or some other non sensical rule. A pure joke.
How's everyone for grass? Growth is non existent here, grazing the second cut silage and motoring through that.
Eating next winters bales at an alarming rate.
Have ye had no rain?
Had plenty, but only greened the place up it seems, ground is still rock hard.
Thinking about buying hay or something like it for winter, mix it with the silage I have.
Gr crashed to 42 last week ….rain brought no bounce in growth ….some cold hash weather for time of year hasn’t helped either …lots of paddocks bit yellow and hungry looking ..had been following. Cows with 16/18 units since may and I think whilst ok for a while it has depleted reserves in the ground …will be buffering for a while yet ….body warmer on here again today
