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SMR Nitrates Pollution

SMR 1

Protection of Water against Pollution caused by Nitrates

 The aim of this requirement is to reduce the pollution of waters caused by nitrates and phosphates occurring from agricultural land and farmyards. This SMR applies to all beneficiaries.

A farmer must:

  •  Divert all clean water to a clean water outfall
  • Prevent clean water from becoming soiled
  • Minimise the amount of soiled water that is produced on the holding

The dairy washings tank contents can be applied to land during the closed period provided that the tank contains only dairy washings, excreta from the milking parlour and wash down from the collection area. It can only be applied when ground and weather conditions are suitable.

  • Collect and manage all organic fertilisers, effluents and soiled waters in a way that will prevent runoff or seepage, directly or indirectly, into ground waters or surface waters.

Organic fertiliser means:

  • Slurry
  • Farmyard manure
  • Sewage sludge
  • Spent mushroom compost
  • Industrial sludge

Storage

There must be sufficient storage for all of the above and silage effluent, or effluent from other crops when required.

Farmers must have adequate storage capacity for organic fertilisers depending on the zone in which your holding resides

i.e. 16, 18, 20 or 22 weeks

  • Have excess capacity to allow for poor weather conditions
  • Ensure that all storage facilities are leak-proof and structurally sound
  • Comply with the DAFM construction specifications for all new storage facilities

Organic Fertiliser Storage Periods

A 16 weeks
B 18 weeks
C (Donegal & Leitrim) 20 weeks
C (Cavan & Monaghan) 22 weeks

Farmers must not:

Stockpile or store farmyard manure on land during the prohibited spreading period (see table 2)

  • Store silage bales outside of farmyards within 20m of water, or water abstraction point, where collection facilities are not in place. This applies all year round
  • Use supplementary feeding points within 20m of waters, or on bare rock
  • Use or create sacrifice areas e. areas where livestock are kept on during the winter period to “save the rest of the land”

Note: To avail of reduced storage capacity for cattle (except dairy cows), sheep, deer or goats, the following needs to apply ng:

  •  The annual holding stocking rate cannot exceed140kgs of organic nitrogen per hectare
  • The livestock (other than dairy cows, sheep, goats or deer) out-wintering grassland stocking rate cannot exceed 85kgs of nitrogen per hectare during the appropriate prohibited spreading period on the out- wintering area
  • In the case of deer, goats or sheep, the out-wintering grassland stocking rate cannot exceed 130kgs of organic nitrogen per hectare during the appropriate prohibited spreading period on the out-wintering area
  • All lands used for out-wintering of the livestock are comprised within the holding
  • The out-wintered livestock have free access at all times to the required lands
  • Severe poaching must not occur

Alternative reduced storage capacity requirements

Farmers may need less storage capacity on their  holding if they have one of these contracts:

  • A contract granting  sole access to enough alternative storage at another location outside of your holding
  • A contract with a treatment facility for processing livestock manure
  • A contract with an authorised person or body who undertakes the collection, recovery or disposal of waste

The storage requirement period for sheep manure is 6 weeks.

The general rule is that you must have 26 weeks storage capacity for pig manure. However, the storage capacity on Table 1 will be sufficient if:

  • There are no more than 100 pigs on your holding at any time, and
  • Your own holding is large enough to take all livestock manure produced, without exceeding the nitrogen or phosphorus limits in the Nitrates Regulations

Poultry Manure

 The general rule is that you must have 26 weeks storage capacity for poultry manure. However, the storage capacity on Table 1 will be sufficient if:

  • There are no more than 2,000 poultry places on your holding, and
  • Your own holding is large enough to take all livestock manure produced, not just poultry manure, without exceeding the nitrogen or phosphorus limits in the Nitrates Regulations

Managing the Spreading of Fertilisers

For the purposes of the Regulations, a fertiliser is any substance containing nitrogen or phosphorus used on land to help to grow crops (including grass).

General Rule 1

The application limit of 170kg N/Ha/yr from livestock manure is calculated as: The Total Nitrogen produced by all livestock (including livestock manure that may be imported onto the holding) divided by the eligible area (in hectares) of the holding

The total quantity of fertilisers (organic and chemical combined) that you apply to your land must not be more than the crop requirements including that of grass.

General Rule 2 (Derogation)

Eligibility for Derogation

  • The holding must have at least 80% grass
  • grazing livestock only:Cattle (excluding veal calves), sheep, deer, goats and horses

Derogation Conditions

 You must make an annual ONLINE application to the Department

  • A current fertiliser plan must be in place on farm/hold- ing by 1 st March each year
  • Plan revised within seven days of any changes to farm practices on the farm/holding
  • Annual Accounts (fertiliser & feed) submitted to the DAFM Nitrates unit in Johnstown Castle, Wexford by 31 st March of the following year.
  • Soil testing to be carried out at least every 4 years with one analysis per 5 hectares and the location of the sample must be clearly indentified (e.g. farm map)
  • You must submit a fully labelled Farmyard Sketch showing manure storage facilities and livestock hous-
  • No legume crops except in grass with less than 50% clover
  • No imports of livestock manures are allowed

You can get more information about these specifications from your FAS advisor/consultant or on DAFM’s website:

Prohibited Spreading Periods

Fertiliser                Start date Type Zone

A

 Zone

B

 Zone

C

 

Chemical 15 Sept to 12 Jan 15 Jan 31 Jan
Organic 15 Oct to 12 Jan 15 Jan 31 Jan
Farmyard Manure  

1 Nov to

  

12 Jan

  

15 Jan

  

31 Jan

 

Application of Fertilisers

  • Not exceed the 170kg N/Ha/year application limit of organic manure to land on your holding, including that deposited by the animals themselves
  • Keep within the overall maximum fertilisation rate for N & P on the holding (organic and chemical com- bined)
  • Apply fertilisers and soiled water in a uniform manner
  • Adhere to the buffer zones when applying fertilisers and soiled water
  • Keep records of quantities you spread and where
  • Keep records of what you purchase/sell or move on/off holding

Farmers  must not:

 Spread fertilisers during the prohibited spreading period

  • Use an upward-facing splash plate or sludge irrigator on a tanker, or use one on an umbilical system for spreading organic fertiliser or soiled water
  • Spread organic fertilisers or soiled water from a road or passageway, even if the road or passageway is on your own holding
  • Spread chemical fertilisers, livestock manure, soiled water or other organic fertilisers when:
    • The land is waterlogged
    • The land is flooded, or it is likely to flood
    • The land is frozen, or covered with snow
    • Heavy rain is forecast within 48 hours (you must check the weather forecast prior to spreading)
  • Spread chemical fertilisers, livestock manure, soiled water or other organic fertilisers if the ground has a steep slope (> 10%) and if there is a significant risk of causing pollution. When you are deciding whether there is a risk, you must take into account how close you are to waters, what condition the soil is in, the ground cover and how much rainfall there is or how much rainfall is expected
  • Spread chemical fertiliser on land within 2 metres of surface waters

Buffer zones for spreading organic fertilisers

 Water body/Feature     Buffer zone

 Any water supply source providing 100m3 or more of water per day, or serving 500 or more people;200 metres (or as little as 30 metres where a Local Authority allows)

  • Any water supply source providing 10m3 or more of water per day, or serving 50 or more people; 100 metres (or as little as 30 metres where a Local Authority allows)
  • Any other water supply for human consumption;    25 metres (or as little as 15 metres where a Local Authority allows)
  • Lake shoreline                20 metres
  • Exposed cavernous or karstified limestone features (such as swallow holes and collapse features) 15 metres
  • Any surface watercourse where the slope towards the watercourse exceeds 10%                 10 metres
  • Any other surface waters            5 metres

Farmyard Manure (FYM)

  • Farmyard manure can be stored in a field prior to landspreading during the spreading period
  • You must not store farmyard manure in a field during the prohibited spreading period for farmyard manure (See Table 2)
  • You must collect all seepage from farmyard manure when stored within the farmyard/shed
  • You can store it in a field during the spreading season, but you must store it in a compact heap and you cannot store it within the buffer zones outlined in Table 4
  • Farmyard manure cannot be stored on hardcore
  • Farmyard manure is the only organic fertiliser that may be stored in a field during the spreading No other organic fertiliser may be stored in the field during the spreading period

Field storage of spent mushroom compost (containing poultry manure) is prohibited FYM in a field during the prohibited spreading period and/or within buffer zones will lead to a sanction.

Water body/Feature   Buffer zone

  • Any water supply source providing 100m3 or more of water per day, or serving 500 or more people 250 metres
  • Any water supply source providing 10m3 or more of water per day, or serv- ing 50 or more people 250 metres
  • Any other water supply for human consumption        50 metres
  • Lake shoreline      20 metres
  • Exposed cavernous or karstified limestone features (such as swallow holes and collapse features) 50 metres
  • Any other surface waters   20 metres

Ploughing and Green Cover

Farmers must:

 

  • Where arable land is ploughed between 1st July and 30th November, take the necessary measures to have green cover from a sown crop within 6 weeks of ploughing
  • Where grassland is ploughed between 1st July and 15th October, have green cover from a sown crop by 1st November
  • After applying a non-selective herbicide to arable land, or to grassland in the period between 1st July and 30th November, take the necessary measures to provide for the emergence within 6 weeks of the application, of green cover from a sown crop or from natural regeneration
  • If you use a non-selective herbicide on arable land or grassland between 1 July and 30 November, there must be green cover from a sown crop or from natural regeneration within 6 weeks from when you use the In the case of seed crops and crops for human consumption where the contract prohibits the use of non selective herbicide pre-harvest the requirement to provide green cover is reduced to 75% of the contract area where the non selective herbicide is applied to land after 15th October.

They must not:

  • Plough grassland between 16th October and 30th November
  • Remove green cover before 1st December once it is sown (to be in compliance with the nitrates regulations) by ploughing or by the use of a non- selective herbicide unless a crop is sown within two weeks of its removal
  • Plough or cultivate for non-grass crops within 2m of a watercourse marked on a 6” OSI map (1:10560)

Records

As part of Cross Compliance you have to keep nitrates records. You must keep the records for each calendar year and they must be finalised by 31st March of the following year. You must retain records for at least five years.

These are the records you must keep:

 The total area of your holding in hectares (this is on your application form for the Basic Payment Scheme if you are an applicant)

  • The eligible area of the holding in hectares (this is on your application form for the Basic Payment Scheme if you are an applicant)
  • The areas of grass and any other crops on your holding (this is also in your application form for the Basic Payment Scheme)
  • An estimate of how much fertiliser your holding requires for the year and where applicable a copy of a Nutrient Management Plan (NMP) completed for your holding
  • The numbers and type of livestock you have, as follows:
    • In the case of cattle, you do not need to keep any records additional to the Bovine Herd Register (BHR) or Electronic Bovine Herd Register
    • In the case of sheep, you do not need to keep any records additional to the Flock Register
    • In the case of pigs and poultry, record number of pig or poultry places
    • You should also record the number of each livestock type other than the above types on the holding on the first day of each quarter g. horses/donkeys/deer
  • The quantities and types of chemical fertilisers moved on to or off your holding, including opening stock, records of purchase and closing stock (keeping receipts at all times)
  • The total amount of concentrates (including cereals produced on your holding and purchased from another farmer) that you fed to grazing livestock during the previous year. You should also keep a copy of all dockets showing quantities of concentrates purchased during the previous year
  • Livestock manure and other organic fertilisers moved on to, or off the holding, including quantities, type, dates and details of exporters/importers, as the case may be
  • Quantities and type of organic fertiliser applied to Index 1 and 2 soils and details of the size of area (Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS) numbers) of land it was applied on
  • Completed record of movement of organic fertiliser form (Record 3) must be submitted to Nitrates Section, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Johnstown Castle Estate on or before 31st December each year in respect of all exports of livestock manure (e.g. cattle manure, pig slurry, poultry litter) which occurs during the year, otherwise the export will not be considered valid. This applies to all farmers
  • A record of the details of livestock temporarily moved to, or received from, another holding for grazing including cattle/ sheep types (Record 4). This record must be submitted to Nitrates Section, DAFM, Wexford, on or before 31st December each year
  • A record of any rental/grazing This record should include the rental period, LPIS numbers of land grazed plus name and herd number of transferor/transferee (Record 5). This record must be submitted to Nitrates Section, DAFM, Wexford, on or before 31st December each year
  • The facilities you have for storing livestock manure and other organic fertilisers, soiled water and effluent from dungsteads, farmyard manure pits or silage pits also how much they can hold and an assessment of whether you have enough storage to meet the requirements of the Regulations
  • The results of any soil tests (you must keep copies of them, a location map clearly identifying the areas from which they were taken and size of the areas)
  • The location of any point where water for human consumption is taken from any surface watercourse, borehole, spring or well

SMR 1 Inspections

 The inspector will check the following:

  •  Is the farmer minimising soiled water?
  • Measures & checks if all manure storage facilities are ‘fit for purpose’
  • Is FYM stockpiled/stored on land?
  • Storage of silage bales
  • Land spreading/buffer zones of chemical & organic fertilisers
  • Ploughing & Green cover

On inspection the applicant must submit:

 Complete and accurate records by the 31st March of the following year if requested to do so

  • Soil sample results (where applicable) accompanied by a location map showing sample identifier
  • Import/Export forms for organic manures

Reconciling and checking the records submitted to the DAFM will include:

 Checking accuracy of records and submission of records on time

  • Checking the validity of records/invoices
  • Determining if the minimum manure storage require- ments are being met
  • Checking if out-wintering requirements are being met
  • Checking if the chemical N and P used, is within the requirements

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