Nitrates Derogation - A second look could be very worthwhile?

The Nitrates Action Programme (NAP) aims to improve the use of fertilizers and reduce the pollution of water by nitrates from farming sources. It is part of the Northern Ireland Cross-Compliance requirements and non-compliance with the NAP can put your single farm payment at risk.  

A key feature of the NAP is a farm limit of 170 KG nitrogen per hectare per year (N/ha/year) from livestock manure.  Last year 19 out of 378 farms inspected breached this limit. Farmers have adopted different ways of dealing with the surplus N on their farms through a combination of:

The term ‘nitrogen loading’ is used to describe the amount of nitrogen applied per hectare.  These are viable alternatives for reducing nitrogen loadings up to 5 percent and possibly 10 percent over the 170  KG N/ha/year limit. But they are increasingly expensive when a nitrogen loading exceeds 200 KG N/ha/year as shown in the example in this article.

If you have a nitrogen loading exceeding 170 KG N/ha/year then you can apply for a derogation up to 250 KG N/ha/year.  Whilst the derogation is available if you keep cattle and sheep, in practice it will apply mainly to intensive dairy farms. You need to apply annually for this derogation and keep additional records.

A dairy farm keeps 100 dairy cows, 25 1 – 2 year old heifers and 25 0 – 1 year old heifer calves on 46 ha of eligible land.  The average quantity of milk sold per cow per year is 6600 litres. The cows are fed an average of 2.2 tonnes of concentrates per year.

The nitrogen loading for this farm is calculated at 234 KG N/ha/year and the Phosphate (P) Balance is 8.5 KG P/ha/year using a phosphorus content of 4.8  KG P/tonne for the concentrate inputs.

There are a number of ways you could meet the NAP requirements in this example.

Apply for the nitrates derogation before 1 March each year and you can continue to operate with the same levels of livestock and area of land used. You will need to keep additional records. These are a fertilisation plan and a fertilisation account. CAFRE can train you on how to keep these records or you can employ a consultant to help with the records.   You should allow an approximate cost of £200-£300 for your own time or a consultants fee. Your farm must have at least 80 percent of the agricultural area in grassland and have a phosphorus balance of no more than 10 KG P/ha/year to be eligible for a derogation.

To reduce the nitrogen loading to 165 KG N/ha/year 1050 m³ (231,000 gallons) of slurry needs to be exported. This is about 60 percent of the slurry produced by the herd.  It would cost over £3600 to replace this slurry with chemical fertiliser.  This does not include the cost of transporting the slurry to other farms. Records must be kept of slurry exports.

You would need to rent an additional 19 ha (47.5 acres) of land to reduce the nitrogen loading to 165 KG N/ha/year The additional cost of renting this land at £250/ha (£100/acre) would be £4750.  It may not be possible to find suitable land.  If additional land is rented and the land owner is claiming single farm payment on that land, control for nitrates needs to be transferred to you.  To transfer control for nitrates a written agreement must be completed by the land owner and the farmer to give responsibility for nitrates to the farmer.  Records need to be kept of control agreements and the land must be recorded on your single farm payment application form.

4. Reducing livestock numbers.

You would need to cut livestock numbers by 30 percent to reduce the nitrogen loading to 165 KG N/ha/year.  This could mean a reduction of 30 percent in sales of milk. The fall in profitability would probably be greater than 30 percent as many fixed costs would not reduce in proportion to the reduced herd size.

In this example, applying for a nitrates derogation is the most cost effective option to meet the regulations.  Many farmers are currently not applying for the derogation but taking alternative approaches to meet the nitrogen loading regulations. You need to consider how you want to see your farm business developing in the future. The nitrates derogation does allow farms to grow by allowing herds to increase. This is an important consideration when considering a farm business’s future viability and profitability.  If you apply for the nitrates derogation you will need to keep additional records and you need to have a good recording and administration system to ensure that important deadlines are not missed.

If you need a nitrates derogation for next year then you must submit a completed application form to the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) on or before 1 March 2011.  Application forms are available from NIEA at www.ni-environment.gov.uk/ or by telephoning 028 9262 3189.  

If you would like to discuss your options with a CAFRE Dairy or Beef & Sheep Development Adviser please call 0845-30-44-503.

James Brown, dairy farmer from Ballywalter, Co. Down, is pictured discussing the merits of the Nitrates Derogation with Michael Oliver his local Countryside Management Delivery Adviser.  James has managed his intensive dairy farm successfully for the last three years using the Nitrates Derogation