ICMSA bemoans the lack of clarity over Irish nitrogen rules

Published Mar 9, 2023

Tridge summary

The article highlights the concerns of Pat McCormack, who criticizes the lack of progress on a policy that will determine nitrate banding for dairy farmers in the Republic of Ireland, required for compliance with the Nitrates Regulations. The policy, which will assign herds into one of three bands based on average annual milk yield, has not been communicated to farmers, causing uncertainty and frustration. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) attributes the delay to stakeholder engagement and an ecological assessment, but McCormack calls for the policy to be suspended due to inadequate preparation and planning. The article also mentions similar initiatives by other EU countries, such as the Netherlands, to reduce nitrogen emissions from livestock, which have met resistance from the farming community.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

Pat McCormack said that the lack of progress was ‘stunning’ and has called for the policy, which requires all dairy farmers to provide milk yield information for their herd to determine their nitrate banding, to be shelved. “We are coming up on mid-March and most of our members have still to receive official notification on what band they will have to farm within for this year – I repeat, that’s this year,” he commented. McCormack said the government’s ‘unrealistic’ schedule on rolling out the banding rules had become ‘impossible and it would be better for everyone…if the responsible officials just recognized that they are not ready for this regulation and suspended the process till there’s some semblance of a plan’. “Frankly, they have not done the preparations – much less looked at the roll-out and the implications of this move,” McCormack said. “Realistically, at this stage we have two options: [the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine] can continue with this ...

Source: Dairyreporter