Farmers 'up in arms' as water quality review is published

The EPA has published the review, which has been prepared for the European Commission.

The EPA recently published its data on water quality in 2022, showing, overall, no significant improvement in the biological quality of rivers or lakes.

Farmers are "up in arms" as they fear a reduction in stocking rates for derogation farmers in areas across the country will "decimate incomes".

The Environmental Protection Agency has published its report - Water Quality Monitoring Report on Nitrogen and Phosphorus Concentrations in Irish Waters 2022 - which shows that nitrate concentrations "remain too high in rivers, groundwater, and estuaries in the south-east, south-west and midlands and eastern regions".

"Nationally, although there have been year-on-year fluctuations, average nitrate concentrations have increased since 2012/2013 in all waterbody types," the EPA said.

Implementing decision

The EPA is required under the GAP Regulations to prepare an annual report on the results of water quality monitoring as part of Ireland’s obligation under the EU Commission’s Implementing Decision for the nitrates derogation.

This year, it was required to provide an additional assessment of water quality based on specific criteria set by the commission under Article 12 of the 2022 implementing decision.

It is required to submit the report to the Department of Agriculture, who in turn submit it to the commission along with other information. 

An EPA spokesperson confirmed that it has submitted this year's report to the department, and the agency has given a briefing on the report to the Agriculture Water Quality Working Group. 

Based on the specified water quality criteria set out in the commission's implementing decision, over 44,000km2 of land is identified as requiring additional measures to protect water quality as part of the derogation.

'Up in arms'

The Irish Farmers' Association has said that the whole interim review process has been "flawed from the very start".

Maps published in the report outlining the regions that would be required to reduce their organic nitrogen stocking rate to 220kg per hectare from 250kg have caused great concern. 

IFA national dairy chairman Stephen Arthur said farmers are "up in arms" over the map, "which simply makes no sense".

"The reduction in the stocking rates for derogation farmers in these areas will decimate the incomes of farmers for no environmental benefit whatsoever," he said.

Derogation farmers have implemented dozens of measures at farm level, including significant additional measures in the last two years which are already showing progress, but that doesn’t suit the current anti-dairy farmer narrative.

The IFA national dairy committee meets Monday to discuss this. 

Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association president Pat McCormack said that such reductions taken together with cow banding introduced this year would represent a "twin-attack" on the family dairy farm system,

Mr McCormack has appealed to the Minister for Agriculture "to delay making a proposal on these ruinous ideas" to the EU Commission, so that "sensible proposals can be put in place that will not fatally wound Ireland’s most famous and world-renowned family dairy farm sector".

Background

The EPA recently published its data on water quality in 2022, showing, overall, no significant improvement in the biological quality of rivers or lakes.

Nitrogen levels — caused mainly by agricultural use of fertilisers and manures — have increased in rivers and groundwater, and phosphorus levels, mainly from agricultural runoff and wastewater discharges, are generally stable but are still too high in many rivers and lakes.

In awarding Ireland its current nitrates derogation, the European Commission imposed conditionality around water quality trends.

Its implementing decision states that where water quality is poor, or where worsening trends occur over the period 2021-2022, the maximum livestock manure nitrogen per hectare limit must be reduced from 250kg nitrogen per hectare to 220kg nitrogen per hectare from January 2024.

Minister McConalogue made a commitment recently to preparing a case to reengage and seek flexibility on the timing of this review from the commission, with a view to giving existing measures more time to demonstrate their impact.

However, there is no guarantee that there will be any change to the commission’s decision as it stands.