SLURRY & MANURE AND SPREADING RULES

What are they?

This has certainly become a hot topic over the last few months which was triggered by an announcement from DEFRA in the autumn of last year together with recent on farm inspections by the Environment Agency.

DEFRA’s recent announcement reaffirmed the rules under the ‘Farming rules for water’ which states that it is not permitted to apply organic manures (FYM, slurry or biosolids) to land where there is no nutritional requirement for the crop at the time. In addition, regardless of whether or not your farm lies within an NVZ (Nitrate Vulnerable Zone), it should have at least four months’ worth of slurry storage.

During the autumn and winter season, there are very few crops that DEFRA consider have a nutrient demand and therefore justifying spreading in this period is very difficult. Understandably, this raised concern with many farmers who do not currently have sufficient storage for the four-month period over the autumn/winter season.

This regulation is not new but has not necessarily been policed in the past, and the regulation is now being interpreted on a stricter basis because water nitrate and phosphate levels are not reducing. What can be done?

Despite the usual ‘closed period’ permitting against spreading over winter months, there is an exemption until March 2021/2022 to alleviate any capacity pressure you may currently be experiencing under an exemption known as RPS 252.

Under RPS 252 you are required to show that the requirement to spread the manure is the last resort, by demonstrating you cannot feasibly follow the four steps below within your manure contingency plan:

• Store the organic manure at the place of production.

• Store the organic manure at the place of use.

• Send the organic manure to an off-site anaerobic digestion plant or other effluent treatment plant, including at a sewage treatment works.

• Store the organic manure off-site.

If you plan to use this exemption and wish to spread, this must be within the Farming Rules for Water guidance, and on land at low risk of leaching and run off, when the weather and ground conditions allow, and at an application rate that allows no more than 5kg/ha of nitrates to be leached.

Whilst the exemption may be able to resolve the considerable issue for 2021/2022’s winter, the majority of holdings will undoubtedly need greater storage capacity going forward to maintain compliance.

FUTURE COMPLIANCE:

What you need to do…

• Calculate your store’s capacity, including average rainfall figures, the size of your stores, and how much slurry you use.

• Incorporate a 300 millimetre freeboard (vertical distance between the crest of the tank/lagoon and the slurry surface for steel/concrete stores) into capacity calculations. This is required to be 750 millimetres for earth-banked stores.

• Ensure your store is impermeable and meets the anti-corrosion standards set out in British Standard 5502-50:1993 +A2:2010.

• Make sure your store has a lifespan of 20 years with maintenance.

• Have at least four months’ worth of slurry capacity for the winter months (22 weeks if you are within an NVZ).

• Prepare for an increase of storage capacity requirements to store at least six months’ worth of slurry.

If your store was built before March 1991, it is exempt from the rules for new stores, unless substantial changes are made, in which case it no longer becomes exempt.

To help prepare for the changing storage requirements, farmers will be able to apply for the Slurry Investment Scheme in autumn 2022, which will provide Government funded grants to help farmers meet storage requirements. Currently, many farmers are aiding their compliance by reducing their slurry production through significant capital grants for the covering of yards, slurry stores and silage pits through Countryside Stewardship schemes. These schemes are helping to reduce the rainfall and run-off contributions to their slurry stores.

If you require advice in applying for an exemption, or are planning a future store and wish to discuss the potential for grant aid, myself (details below) or James Wotton on 07899 955935.