Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú has called on her colleague, Minister Charlie McConalogue, to revisit an outright splash plate ban that will mean that from January 1st next, 41,000 farmers will be required to use new, more environmentally friendly, equipment to spread slurry. Ní Mhurchú has called for the Minister to recognise the impact these new regulations will have on hill farmers in particular and called on the Minister to defer the regulations until we can investigate alternative ways to protect the environment when spreading slurry.
Moves to ban the use of the traditional splash-plate slurry spreading on farms is an environmental measure that is designed to reduce emissions from agriculture. Farmers will be legally required to spread slurry using low emission slurry spreaders (LESS) from January 01st 2025, under the Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters Regulations.
Ní Mhurchú has said that whilst well intentioned, the measures will place an unreasonable financial burden on farmers, who will have to invest considerably in new machinery. Ní Mhurchú also raised the fact that the new machinery is too heavy and awkward for use on hills and this presents a clear health and safety risk for farmers who are expected to pull this equipment up and down steep hills.
According to Ní Mhurchú,
“Farmers have raised their concerns directly with me in meetings over the past number of months. This is a massive issue for farmers with very hilly lands. The inability to spread the slurry on hills means that farmers may spread more on their flatter grounds leading to a greater concentration of slurry on flat grounds which presents a danger for nearby water courses”
Ní Mhurchú says other EU countries, such as Germany, are making allowance for hill farmers in the implementation of these regulations and she feels Ireland should follow suite.
Ní Mhurchú said these new slurry plate measures disproportionately impact on hill farmers in counties like Tipperary.
Ní Mhurchú has called on officials in the Department of Agriculture to review new technology coming to the market such as the Moscha swivel plate.
“If approved as LESS equipment, it could be a solution that would be affordable and easier for farmers to meet their environmental obligations. Moscha Swivel Spout Slurry Spreaders were designed by a German farmer who was seeking a better slurry-spreading technique. The basic idea is that the nozzle slows down the speed at which slurry leaves the tanker, thereby creating larger slurry droplets with less emissions”
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