IFA rejects nitrates plan
It claims that these seek to impose damaging and excessive conditions on Irish agriculture, and specifically on farmers operating below the 170 organic nitrogen per hectare limit.
IFA national council members and county chairmen voiced strong opposition to these at an emergency meeting in Abbeyleix.
They claimed the provisions add unnecessary costs and increase the bureaucratic burden on all farmers.
IFA president John Dillon said with product prices under pressure, farmers are furious that excessive regulation by Dublin and Brussels is increasing costs unnecessarily and destroying their competitiveness.
He rejected obligations on farmers to prepare and maintain additional records of fertiliser requirements, purchases and stocks, which must be retained for five years.
Mr Dillon also claimed the time scale being provided to put in place additional storage capacity on farms by November and December 2006 would be impossible for many farmers.
He also severely criticised “the onerous and discriminatory” obligations on pig and poultry farmers, who will be required to provide 26 weeks storage by the end of 2006.
“It is clear that an excessive and unnecessary compliance regime is being sought for the majority of farmers operating at stocking levels which are below the 170kg per hectare nitrogen limit. The programme does not deliver on the Government’s commitment to a ‘light-handed approach’ on compliance,” he said.
Mr Dillon also expressed concern at the direction of on-going negotiations with the commission on regulations to give legal effect to the action programme.
