Sheep Dipping and Cross Compliance

All Northern Ireland farmers claiming Single Farm Payment must comply with certain conditions known as Cross-Compliance. One aspect of Cross-Compliance is adherence to Statutory Management Requirements

Statutory Management Requirements (SMRs)

These are legal requirements covering the environment, food safety, animal and plant health and animal welfare. These requirements apply to all land farmed within an agricultural business, including land which is not used to claim Single Farm Payment.

SMR 3 Protection of Groundwater Against Pollution

Groundwater refers to all water below the water table. It is an important natural resource and provides the base flow for many surface waters such as rivers and lakes. The incorrect use and disposal of certain substances used in agriculture e.g. sheep dip and pesticides could lead to the pollution of groundwater and/or contamination of drinking water supplies.

It is worth considering alternatives to plunge dipping such as injectables and pour-ons that may provide the necessary parasite control whilst reducing the environmental risk. A list of authorised products is available from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate web site: www.vmd.defra.gov.uk/mswd/sheepdip_advice.aspx

Groundwater Authorisation

Under the Groundwater Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009, an authorisation is required from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) before disposing of various substances to land. The list of hazardous substances includes sheep dip, biocides, plant protection product waste or washings and other pesticides. Anyone wishing to dispose of spent sheep dip, other hazardous substances or non-hazardous pollutant to land must obtain a Groundwater Authorisation from NIEA and comply with the conditions of that Authorisation.

Typically a Groundwater Authorisation will include the following conditions:

Disposal must only take place on the authorised land area.
No hazardous substances must be disposed on land within 10 metres from a surface waterway (rivers, streams or open drains) or within 50 metres from any spring, well or borehole, irrespective of its current use.
Disposal cannot take place on land that is liable to flooding or is frozen or snow covered.
Disposal cannot take place on land which is free draining, steeply sloping, water logged or has cracked soil.
Written records detailing any disposals carried out in the last four years must be kept up to date and be available for inspection.

Under this SMR farmers are also required to ensure that the sheep dipper is properly sited, operated and well maintained, that is, impermeable.

Training

CAFRE offer a training course on the Safe Use of Sheep Dips. This course is for anyone who wants to purchase or use sheep dip in the course of their job. For further details telephone (028) 9442 6631 or visit www.cafre.ac.uk/safe-use-sheep-dips

Further Information

Further information on this subject is available in the Cross-Compliance Verifiable Standards 2010 Summary booklet

or by contacting your local Countryside Management Unit staff.

To obtain a Groundwater Authorisation or for further information on the Groundwater Regulations, contact the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, Agriculture Regulations Team telephone (028) 9262 3278 or www.doeni.gov.uk/niea/agri_regs_groundwater