Notice to Farmers and Agricultural Contractors
This is a reminder to farmers that the use of Low Emission Slurry Spreading (LESS) such as trailing shoe and dribble bar became compulsory from Wednesday, 1 January 2025 on farms stocked at 100kg N/ha or above.
The European Union (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations 2025 (S.I. No. 588 of 2025) states that LESS equipment shall be used for the:
- Application of slurry on holdings with a previous year’s grassland stocking rates of 100 kg nitrogen per hectare from grazing livestock manure or above prior to export of livestock manure from the holding.
- Application of slurry produced by pigs on any holding.
- Application of slurry to arable land unless the slurry shall be incorporated into the soil within 24 hours.
No cultivation shall take place within 3m of a watercourse identified on the modern 1:5,000 scale Tailte Éireann mapping or better, except in the case of grassland establishment or the sowing of grass crops.
For late harvested crops, a minimum uncultivated buffer of 6m shall be put in place to protect any intersecting watercourses. Late harvested crops include vegetable crops harvested after Tuesday, 15 September 2026 as well as fodder beet, sugar beet, main crop potatoes and maize excluding cereal crops and beans.
Applying slurry using LESS equipment can reduce ammonia emissions by 30-60% compared to the traditional splash plate method by applying slurry more precisely and closer to the ground which significantly minimises the risk of nutrient runoff into rivers, lakes and groundwater. It is envisaged that LESS will play a significant role in meeting Irish agriculture’s emissions reduction targets.
Kildare County Council would like to acknowledge the ongoing co-operation of the agricultural sector in working together to improve and protect water quality in County Kildare.
.jpg)
