The Beef Plan Movement has welcomed a review of the Nitrates Directive by the European Commission, in which Brussels acknowledged farmers’ frustrations with “calendar farming” and suggested potential flexibility around closed periods.
Earlier this year, the Beef Plan Movement highlighted this issue across the media, though it faced pushback in some quarters—with one journalist even dismissing opposition to rigid closed periods as a populist move by farm organisations. For Beef Plan, however, it simply represents common sense. Rigid closed periods in Ireland fail to work: they unfairly penalise farmers and can actually lead to negative environmental outcomes.
Beef Plan has never proposed a “free-for-all” regarding slurry spreading, but rather a responsible, logical approach. In a year where weather conditions are suitable during a closed period, farmers should be permitted to spread a portion of their slurry to ease pressure on storage facilities. That way, if conditions prove unfavorable at the start of the open period, farmers will at least have sufficient storage capacity to wait until the weather improves. State Agencies may consult with bodies such as Teagasc and Met Éireann when assessing local weather and soil conditions to make the final call on whether flexibility should be granted.
The Beef Plan Movement has consistently argued that calendar farming in Ireland is far more challenging than in the rest of Europe due to the unpredictable nature of our climate and high rainfall levels. Having written to Minister Heydon on this matter earlier this year to request flexibility, the movement finds it encouraging to see the impracticality of rigid closed periods, and the clear need for flexibility—finally being recognised at a European level.
The Beef Plan Movement will continue to actively pursue this issue.