merrion street

The Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine has announced that End of Year Nitrogen and Phosphorus statements (N&P Statements) for January to December2020 (cattle only) are now available on the Department’s online system www.agfood.ie.

These figures will not have taken into consideration any documentation submitted to the Department by 31st December 2020.

These statements are particularly useful to allow farmers to plan for the coming year and to ensure compliance with the limits of the Nitrates Regulations, thus avoiding penalties for breaching the limits of 170 kgs of Nitrogen per hectare or the limit for those who hold an approved derogation is 250 kgs of Nitrogen per hectare .

Farmers who exceeded the limits or came close to the limits in 2020 should engage with their advisor and consider applying for a derogation in 2021, which allows application of  livestock manure on a holding (including that deposited by the animals themselves) up to 250kg N/ha/year. The 2021 Derogation Application is currently open, and the closing date is 31st March 2021.

Farmers participating in BEAM can also access their updated figures under Exceptional Aid Measures on www.agfood.ie. Figures available are accurate up until the 31st of December and farmers can also see how much of their target Nitrates reduction figure to the 30th of June deadline remains. Letters detailing these figures will issue to all BEAM participants next week.

Farmers not already registered for agfood.ie can do so by logging onto www.agfood.ie and clicking the 'Register' button. More information is available on the Department’s website at the following link: 

https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/ruralenvironmentsustainability/environmentalobligations/nitrates/nitratesderogation/

Further information, including Terms & Conditions the  Nitrates Derogation are available on the Department’s website here:  https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/c9563-rural-environment-sustainability-nitrates/#nitrates-derogation