Teagasc in bid to allay fears over nitrates directive

THE Board of the State farm advisory service, Teagasc, met yesterday in a bid to appease farmers’ rage at the new nitrates directive aimed at reducing the effects of water pollution.

A report by Teagasc scientific staff, still being fine tuned before the Minister for Agriculture’s approval is sought, is expected to give more flexibility to farmers.

“The document was well received by the authority, who made a number of observations on its content and asked the scientists to clarify some aspects of the submission. A sub-committee of the authority will meet this Thursday to consider these clarifications. The document is expected to be finalised at the next scheduled meeting of the Teagasc Authority on March 1,” Teagasc stated.