Water pollution in the State would be reduced if farmers made better use of nutrients on their land, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recommended.
This could be achieved by implementing nutrient management planning (NMP), the feasibility of which is currently being examined. Up to 90 per cent of "dirty water" and silage effluent in the State comes from the cattle sector, according to an EPA report. These phosphorus-rich substances run off farmland into rivers and lakes, contributing significantly to the continuing decline in water quality in the State.
To reduce or eliminate this, farmers must be convinced a reduction in the amount of nutrients applied is economically viable, as well as environmentally safe. They have to be convinced that crop yields will be maintained as a result of reducing application rates, the report says.
Farmers must also realise they can save money using manures more efficiently. Organic waste should be recycled.
The continuing decline in water quality is partly due to too much phosphorus being applied to farmland as fertiliser and nutrients from organic manures, slurries, and sludges. The report says the practical difficulties involved in managing large volumes of organic waste in a relatively wet environment are also a factor in poor water quality.
The EPA yesterday published a discussion document, Developing a National Phosphorus Balance for Agriculture in Ireland, which quantified the current scale of agricultural pollution, after an earlier report found the surface water quality is continuing to decline.
The discussion document found there was a surplus of phosphorus applied to agricultural land in 1997 and 1998. It says the current imbalance between nutrient imputs and outputs on farms is "not sustainable". The agency recommends nutrient management planning, a process for guiding the use of nutrients in agricultural production systems, should be "an integral part of farming practice".
Local authorities can legally require farmers to undertake NMP on their farms. The EPA says a training programme needs to be implemented to ensure local authority personnel have the skills to evaluate NMP.
The feasibility of a national training and certificate programme on NMP is currently being assessed by F┴S in association with the EPA and Monaghan County Council.