
Over the past few weeks, the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) office bearer team have attended various stakeholder meetings on environmental issues with DAERA Minister Andrew Muir. Key topics included Lough Neagh, water quality and ammonia.
UFU deputy president John McLenaghan said, “We welcomed the opportunity to engage directly with the Minister. The meetings were productive, however, it is now vital that he and his officials utilise the genuine comments and concerns that we expressed on behalf of the farming community, working with our farmers to find sustainable solutions to environmental issues.
“DAERA recently published the Lough Neagh Action Plan. We made it clear to the Minister that our UFU committees are now taking time to review this document. Many of the measures proposed within the document that will impact agriculture, will require a formal consultation. Therefore, this will provide a major opportunity to properly scrutinise and comment on the proposals over the coming months, ensuring a fair and proportionate response to the water quality challenges that we are facing.
“When reporting on environmental issues including the Lough Neagh blue/green algae crisis, the media tend to be very quick to point the finger at agriculture which is extremely disheartening for our members. It needs to be recognised that farmers live and work in the countryside, and the health of our local landscape is paramount not only to their business but to their own wellbeing.
“The UFU has repeatedly, and will continue to highlight the positive work that has been undertaken by local farmers. This includes investing millions in slurry storage and spreading equipment in recent years that has led to environmental improvements.
“Another example is the introduction of the world leading Soil Nutrient Health Scheme which almost all eligible farmers in Northern Ireland have signed up to over the past two years. As an industry, we recognise the need to reduce nutrient applications and this scheme enables farmers to test their fields and receive soil analysis results to improve nutrient management.”
With strict penalties in place for environmental breaches, farmers cannot afford to be complacent about regulations.
“Agriculture is the only industry that can be immediately penalised for cross-compliance breaches and if a breach is detected, farmers face an immediate penalty that is deducted from their farm support payment. Taking into consideration that support payments largely make up a farm’s income, almost 85%, it is in the farmer’s best interest to comply with regulations.
“In comparison, all other sectors must be taken through the courts in order to be penalised. Therefore, similar incidents to these recorded cross-compliance breaches in agriculture, are unlikely to be recorded by NIEA and perpetrators are unlikely to face any action. Farmers are doing their best to comply and work to the highest environmental standards, and yet, far less is expected of others. It is not a fair or appropriate approach. We should all be working collectively to the same high standards to tackle environmental problems.”
Around the ammonia issue, the UFU made it clear to the Minister that the current planning situation is unacceptable and that NIEA’s behaviour is causing a great deal of frustration whilst preventing environmental improvements.
“The time it takes for NIEA to respond to planning applications, the significant costs for even small projects, the lack of guidance and the inability to discuss queries directly with NIEA staff has our farmers stressed and worn out. This is a matter that we have been lobbying on for years and the fact that we are no further forward speaks volumes about NIEA’s capability and a lack of governance on the matter.
“NIEA’s unwillingness to treat planning applications for replacement facilities differently from new developments on farm is nonsensical and is aggravating the situation further. It is creating a bigger back log of on-farm planning applications and is slowing down sustainable farm developments. Farmers want to increase environmental sustainability with the help of farm infrastructure, but right now, NIEA is working against them.”