Kieran Coughlan: The loss of derogation will ripple beyond affected farmers

Despite having done what was asked of them, the stocking rates for certain farmers are set to reduce from January 1, depending on where they are geographically located

More than 12,000 slurry application systems have been grant-aided since 2014 as farmers stepped up to do what was asked of them.

The drop in nitrates derogation rates is a fiasco. As farmers, we knew the derogation was going to be subject to a review and we also knew the derogation itself was just that — a derogation from the norm, but from a farmer’s perspective the unravelling of the derogation has been wholly frustrating. 

To the untrained eye, it might seem like this is just an issue for a small percentage of our farmers, a couple of thousand at most. The reality is the loss of derogation will affect the majority of farmers in the country, who will likely face increased land rent costs, and land purchase costs not to mind the secondary impacts affecting rural employment, agricultural contractors and service providers as the ripple spreads out from that cohort most affected.