Losing nitrates derogation could cost Irish dairy herds 27 cows each
Amid estimates losing the derogation would force the average Irish dairy farm to get rid of 27 cows (a 14% reduction in the Irish dairy herd), the 100% farmer-owned Tirlán co-op is at the front line of the battle to retain the nitrates derogation.
Dairy farmer Pat Deering says he will have to reduce his liquid milk herd of 120 cows to 100, if the EU removes Ireland's nitrates derogation in December.
The Rathvilly, Co Carlow, farmer would have seen the writing on the wall earlier than many others, because he was a Fine Gael TD from 2011 to 2020, chairing the Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine from 2016 to 2020.
“It’s very expensive to rent land. Land close to me that went on the market last year made €500 an acre. If the derogation goes, everyone will be looking for more land, and we can’t just make [more of] it.
“The news coming out about the derogation the past few weeks hasn’t been very encouraging. They have changed the goalposts mid-stream, and it’s absolutely not fair. We’ve all done so much work to enhance water quality, make our farms more environmentally sustainable. Now the landscape has changed completely.
He was one of the Tirlán milk suppliers who revealed their concerns at a recent Farming for Water event.
Tony Jackson, Kiltegan, Co Wicklow, said: “Losing the derogation would be nothing short of catastrophic for us. We’d definitely have to cut numbers and it would make things very, very tight for us. We could have to look at contract rearing too, and probably more.
"It has been a good year for us in terms of weather and milk price, and it’s a worry having this hanging over us like a cloud.” He has 170 cows. "I’ve always been doing bits and pieces to protect water quality, improve sustainability.
“We’re in the process of putting in reed beds and settling tanks. We’ve our EIP application in, and found it to be grand, a straightforward process. While water is a good bit away from us, we’re always conscious of keeping things clean and tidy."
Jack Duffy, Hackettstown, Co Carlow, said: “We’ve always kept a close eye on things from a water quality perspective, and I’m in the process of doing willow beds to make the farm even more environmentally sustainable. I’m also looking into investing in a sweeper and bucket."
He has returned to the family farm after several years in New Zealand.
“I’m back home since February to run the family farm. We’re milking 150 cows on 200 acres, some of it leased.
“I’m at this Farming for Water event today to learn more, hear what other farmers are doing. Because I’m only home a few months, I’m only catching up on the EIP and the whole derogation debate.
Amid estimates losing the derogation would force the average Irish dairy farm to get rid of 27 cows (a 14% reduction in the Irish dairy herd), the 100% farmer-owned Tirlán co-op is at the front line of the battle to retain the nitrates derogation.
It's a case of fingers crossed for Tirlán shareholders, its 6,000 farmer suppliers, 2,200 employees, and a estimated 19,200 jobs countrywide that Tirlán supports. The co-op says this year's EU-level decision on Ireland's retention of the nitrates derogation is vital for the agricultural sector and rural economy.
Losing the derogation could knock a big hole in the €1.6bn or so Tirlán pays for milk to farmers across 16 counties and in Northern Ireland, payments which include €237m in Co Waterford, €206m in Co Tipperary, and €82m in Co Cork.
There was some encouragement for the fearful in the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) update in August that showed progress in nitrogen reduction across several areas, with most river catchments closer to their targets than in the 2017–2019 period.
However, levels still fell short of those seen between 2008 and 2011, which were the closest to ecological targets in the past 35 years.
And while nitrogen levels declined, they remained excessively high in catchments across the south-east, Tirlán's original home area.
The EPA update revealed nitrogen load reductions required to achieve environmental objectives in the estuaries are about two times higher for the Barrow and Slaney than the Blackwater and Bandon rivers in Co Cork, and 15 times higher than the Suir.
But the nitrogen load reductions required in the River Slaney has decreased by 12% since 2019, which Tirlán has welcomed as a major water quality improvement, thanks to targeted measures and sustained action in high-risk areas, despite the challenges in reducing nitrogen in freely draining agricultural catchments.
The Slaney flows through the heart of Tirlán milk production areas in Wexford, Carlow and Wicklow. In 2024, Tirlán's collaborative multi-year Farming for Water: River Slaney Project was launched to protect and enhance water quality.
And more and more Tirlán suppliers (including more than 170 in 2024) have joined the national €60m water quality EIP for on-farm water quality improvement actions.
But Tirlán chairman John Murphy has expressed serious concern on behalf of farmers after a significant and unexpected change of approach by the European Commission to the renewal of Ireland’s nitrates derogation, introduced with less than six months to go before the critical December decision on the renewal.
Tirlán’s chief executive Seán Molloy also expressed frustration over the change in approach at a time when water quality results were continuing to improve.
“It is disappointing as it is coming at a time when real and measurable progress on improving water quality is being delivered.
“The nitrates derogation is critically important to the sustainable family farm model of grass-based production in Ireland. A united approach across all of our industry is needed now more than ever.”
