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Cattle and stream for water source?

  • 18-06-2021 9:41pm
    #1
    893bet
    Registered Users Posts: 8,724 ✭✭✭


    Are cattle allowed to use a stream as a water source? There is a stream running along the edge of one field that they drink from. It’s fenced off so that they can’t go up and down the stream and only have access to 3-4 meter section.

    This ok with regs?


Comments

  • #2
    ruwithme
    Registered Users Posts: 1,183 ✭✭✭ruwithme


    Unless you're in glas, no bother at all.what you describe is perfect,mighten bother telling regulation makers such a sensible way of water provision for a few cattle for a limited number of weeks in a grazing season.

    Instead a broad brush approach as though hoards of stock are tramping round,sun bathing in a stream.


  • #3
    Mooooo
    Registered Users Posts: 8,611 ✭✭✭Mooooo


    For the moment not illegal afaik, but likely to change fast. So longterm it may as well be better to put in a solution where water can be brought to a trough for them. Agri is getting looked at hard now whether we like ot or not and we all have improvements to make, so if you see places for improvement around the farm may be as well to make a start. Same for us all


  • #4
    amacca
    Registered Users Posts: 6,740 ✭✭✭amacca


    Mooooo wrote: »
    For the moment not illegal afaik, but likely to change fast. So longterm it may as well be better to put in a solution where water can be brought to a trough for them. Agri is getting looked at hard now whether we like ot or not and we all have improvements to make, so if you see places for improvement around the farm may be as well to make a start. Same for us all

    I'd think different ...id wait and see what they want before spending money and then having to undo what I've done if it doesnt match what they want and possibly double spend + do the job a second time

    I'd also take a dim view of them forcing it to happen. 3 generations of us have let cattle drink from a stream that runs through our place.... the river is as healthy now as it was when I was a kid as evidenced by all the fish, crayfish sticklebacks swimming around in it.... it was less healthy for a few years when I was a teen due to a load of milk accidentally discharged upstream by another lad.... the cattle drinking don't seem to cause much problems

    I'd like to see the evidence they are detrimental to the health of the stream as I can't see any evidence here for it....now Maybe if there was a feedlot levels of stock drinking from it or something...


  • #5
    Biscuitus
    Registered Users Posts: 207 ✭✭Biscuitus


    They want to clamp down on it and will come up with some bulls**t reason too so far now go right ahead.

    I have to fence my cattle off from the stream its so unhealthy from the local town and industrial plants.


  • #6
    893bet
    Registered Users Posts: 8,724 ✭✭✭893bet


    Good to hear lads. No option to bring piped water unless tap into neighbour. That’s an option and he would be grand but prefer not too.

    It’s only 2ha and cattle on for a week or 2 a couple of times a year.


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  • #7
    carrollsno1
    Registered Users Posts: 2,186 ✭✭✭carrollsno1


    893bet wrote: »
    Good to hear lads. No option to bring piped water unless tap into neighbour. That’s an option and he would be grand but prefer not too.

    It’s only 2ha and cattle on for a week or 2 a couple of times a year.

    Damming it and putting in a solar pump could be an option too, emaher has made a few set ups on the gunthering thread.

    Better living everyone



  • #8
    emaherx
    Registered Users Posts: 5,949 ✭✭✭emaherx


    Is there not already restrictions brought in this year on access to streams on heavily stocked farms? As far as I know on these farms there is even a restriction on how close a drinker may be placed to a stream.

    I've fenced all of my cattle away from the streams for a number of reasons but the main one is boundary security, I've always found those watering holes to be a weak point in the fences. It's fairly easy these days to fence off a stream and still use it as a source of water. I can now fence fields off into paddocks and run a number of drinkers off of a fairly small and cheap pump.


    Edit:
    https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/thousands-of-kilometres-of-new-fencing-needed-on-heavily-stocked-farms/
    From January 1, 2021, every farmer stocked at greater than 170kg organic NPH needs to fence off all drains, streams and rivers on their farms. All water troughs will have to be moved back 20m from watercourses and cattle will only be allowed cross through the stream in exceptional circumstances.


  • #9
    emaherx
    Registered Users Posts: 5,949 ✭✭✭emaherx


    carrollsno1 wrote: »
    Damming it and putting in a solar pump could be an option too, emaher has made a few set ups on the gunthering thread.

    I didn't even dam the streams, just dug a bit of a hole and placed a large bucket with holes cut on the downstream side and put a submersible pump in it, then clean it out every few months.


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