The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development recently launched a consultation on the draft revised ‘Code of Good Agricultural Practice for the Prevention of Pollution of Water, Air and Soil’.  Comments on the draft document were invited from interested parties and all responses forwarded to Alan Morrow, Countryside Management Branch, DARD. The consultation ran from 18^th December 2006 to Monday 12 March 2007.

The Code has been revised and updated to take account of changes in EU legislation and aims to provide assistance in the form of a practical guide for farmers, growers, contractors and others involved in farming activities.  It describes some of the management practices that can be adopted to minimise the risk of pollution of water, air and soil.  The production and promotion of this Code is an EU requirement and it contains a number of mandatory elements.

The revised Code contains detailed guidance on a wide range of farm related environmental issues and also provides a list of useful contacts including other sources of information.  As part of the public consultation, consideration will be given to the production of a summary version containing the key elements of the Code, with a view to issuing this to all farm businesses.

If you wish to receive a copy of this consultation document you can contact DARD in a number of ways:
By writing to: Countryside Management Branch, Lindesay Hall, Loughry Campus, Cookstown, BT80 9AA.  
Telephone:  (028) 8675 7507,
Fax: (028) 8675 7511
E-mail: cmbenquiries@dardni.gov.uk
Download the document  

About BrowseAloud