There has been much talk of the “All Wales NVZ”; the new regulations came into force, applying to the whole of Wales from the 1st April 2021, some more minor elements of the regulations will come into force immediately, and will effect nearly all farmers spreading either organic nitrogen or artificial nitrogen fertilisers. The more stringent measures of the regulations, such as the 5 months storage requirement and the closed period for organic manure will be phased in, by the years 2023 and 2024. It is without doubt, dairy, pig and poultry farmers that will be most adversely affected by these new regulations, with high capital expenditure possibly required to ensure they have adequate storage requirements in place by 2024.
From the 1st April 2021
- Limits are imposed preventing spread of both manufactured nitrogen and organic manure close to any water course including boreholes, springs and wells.
- Farmers should undertake a conditions inspection prior to applying any artificial nitrogen and should not spread on waterlogged or frozen ground.
- Closed Period for MANUFACTURED NITROGEN (22) – No manufactured nitrogen can be spread during the following periods
| SOIL TYPE | GRASSLAND | TILLAGE LAND |
|---|---|---|
| ALL SOILS | 15th September to 15th January | 1st September to 15th January |
From the 1st January 2023
- There will be specific limits applied to organic manures, including 170kg/ha across the holding and 250kg/ha on any one hectare.
- Farmers will be expected to plan the spread of nitrogen across the holding, based on the nitrogen already available in the soil.
- Risk maps of whole holdings will be required, detailing areas not to spread on, sites of temporary field heaps and steep land not suitable for spreading.
- Temporary field heaps must be stored at certain distances away from watercourses, and not on the same site on two consecutive years.
- Annual records will need to be produced, confirming size of the holding, amount of manure produced and stored, imports and exports of FYM, details of livestock on the holding and detailing where fertiliser applications have been made.
| SOIL TYPE | GRASSLAND | TILLAGE LAND |
|---|---|---|
| SANDY OR SHALLOW | 1st September to 31st December | 1st August to 31st December |
| ALL OTHER SOILS | 15th October to 15th January | 1st October to 31st January |
- STORAGE PERIODS FOR SLURRY, PIG & POULTRY MANURE farmers will need to have enough storage in place for these specific manures for these designated periods:
- 1st October to 1st April for pigs and poultry
- 1st October to 1st March for slurry
- Any farms that produce slurry need to have a slurry storage system in place that complies with SAAFO regulations unless it was constructed prior to 1st March 1991 and is deemed exempt.
Farmers should be reminded there are no closed periods for spreading normal straw based farmyard manure, as such the impacts on sheep and most beef farmers providing they do not use slats, or are extremely heavily stocked will be limited, nonetheless there will be a higher paperwork requirement on all farmers.
There will be a lot of considerations to make to prepare farms for these regulations, and it will likely involve capital expenditure especially on dairy farms without any or adequate slurry storage. If you are concerned about the expenditure required, tenants are advised to contact their landlords early to have these discussions. All farmers are advised to consider the upcoming Sustainable Production and Farm Business Yard Covering grants offered by RPW to try and secure funding towards some of the required expenditure.
Please contact Ellie Watkins at Agri Advisor if you would like further information about this, ellie@agriadvisor.co.uk or 07495 006808.