Kilkenny farmer says fellow farmers 'flying blind' after 'astonishing omission'

Deputy President of ICMSA, Denis Drennan, has described as “an astonishing omission” the decision by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine not to publish the most up-to-date figures they have for farmer Nitrates and Phosphorus use.

The Kilkenny farmer, who also serves as Chairperson of the Farm and Rural Affairs Committee dealing with matters relating to the Nitrates issue, said that in previous years farmers were able to check online early in July and at regular intervals thereafter allowing them to adjust their stocking rate accordingly.

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The Department’s failure to supply these ‘guide’ figures meant that farmers were now ‘flying blind’ in terms of their Nitrates and Phosphorus. This, in turn causes an impact on stocking rates in a situation where breaching limits could have enormously significant consequences.

“The kind of shortfall in knowledge that this failure represents is incredibly serious. Farmers need to know where they are at both in terms of general ‘room to manoeuvre’ and specifically on issues relating to TAMS and maybe the need to go to LESS.

“That would be true in any year, but in this year where both cow banding and the derogations situation are already going to be causing chaos, then farmers will find the Department’s inability to inform individual farmers of where they stand in relation to the limits absolutely chaotic and inexcusable.

“In 2021, we calculate that farmers had eight opportunities to check their N and P usage. So far this year, we’ve had none,” said Mr Drennan, adding that it amounted to telling people to be mindful of limits that they could not establish or check.

Calling on the Department to immediately publish the most up-to-date figures and then provide opportunities for regular updates and checks, the ICMSA Deputy President said that farmers were effectively being asked by the Department to obey a speed limit without being supplied with a speedometer.

Mr Drennan said it was not good enough and the Department must redeploy resources immediately so that the relevant data was made available to the farmers concerned.