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Dairy Notes February 2012

Nitrates Action Programme derogation
Does herd expansion or loss of conacre mean you can no longer farm easily under the 170 kg nitrogen (N) from livestock manure per hectare limit of the Nitrates Action Programme? If you think you may be just over the 170 kg limit in the coming year, now is the time to look at the options:
1. Export slurry to a neighbour with beef cattle or crops who is well below the 170 kg limit. Remember one cubic metre (220 gallons) of dairy cow slurry contains three kilogrammes of N. Typically a 100 hectare farm would have to export over 33 cubic metres (over 7,000 gallons) for every kilogramme per hectare they are above the 170 kg limit.
2. Apply for derogation. If you are going to be above the 170 kg limit it may not be practical or economical ‘to give away’ slurry - applying for derogation may be the better option. If you apply for a derogation there will be a few extra records to keep and some restrictions on land management compared with operating under the 170 kg N limit. The main differences are:
  • an annual fertiliser plan has to be prepared by 1 March giving details of planned livestock numbers, cropping programme and fertiliser/slurry use for this year.
  • at least 80 percent of the area farmed must be in grassland.
  • the business must not exceed a phosphorous (P) balance of 10 kg per hectare per year.
  • all land must be soil sampled every four years.
CAFRE are holding a number of training courses in early February for producers who are considering applying for derogation this year. Contact your local Dairy Development Adviser to register your interest.
Slurry spreading
A splash-plate application of 45,000 litres per hectare of cow slurry in February/early March will provide the same N for grass growth as 2.5 bags (50 kg bags) of 27 percent N. Using a trailing shoe or shallow injection system instead of splash-plate to apply the slurry will almost double the efficiency of N use, allowing a saving of another two bags of fertiliser per hectare.
Allow for this improved N availability when deciding how much fertiliser to apply for first cut. There is unlikely to be a yield response to applying a total of more than 120 kg N per hectare for first cut. The Farm Nutrient Calculator (available at www.ruralni.gov.uk) takes account of the time and method of slurry application when calculating how much fertiliser N to apply.
Capital investment
Many farmers are investing in capital items and benefiting from the 100 percent Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) on expenditure up to £100,000 and is due to finish in April 2012. Some points to help direct your investment on farm:
  • Only invest in items which will benefit your business by improving herd performance or reducing production cost on your farm.
  • Use dairy benchmarking to identify specific areas to target your investment.
  • Look at the payback of your investment, a simple cost benefit analysis of the investment will help you make the correct decision.
  • Focus on areas which always give a good return. For example, grazing infrastructure, water availability in paddocks and labour saving equipment like backing gates or robotic slurry scrapers.
  • Always consult your accountant before any major investment.
Efficient use of slurry
Efficient use of slurry
Slurry applied using trailing shoe
(trailing shoe demo) -  Slurry applied using trailing shoe