NBA advises farmers to be ready for NIEA Cross-Compliance inspections

NBA ADVISES FARMERS TO BE READY FOR NIEA CROSS-COMPLIANCE INSPECTIONS
NITRATES INSPECTIONS START - ARE YOU READY?
NIEA, the Northern Ireland Environmental Agency, has started farm inspections on 5 cross-compliance directives, including Nitrates and Phosphorus Regulations, warns the National Beef Association.
 During their visit, which lasts 2 – 3 hours, sometimes longer depending on the size of farm, Agency inspectors carry out field and farmyard inspections, but a large % of their time will be spent checking records.
 Thus the National Beef Association is advising farmers to prepare now for possible cross-compliance inspections.
 Several teams of inspectors from DARD and DOE can inspect farms for any of the 19 European Directives and if breaches are found then possible penalties can affect your Single Farm Payment.
Most of us don’t like having to keep records, but if claiming Single Farm Payment we must comply with directives and regulations so it is essential all records are kept up-to-date and ready for an inspection, possibly at short notice.
 Records for the Nitrates Directive must be kept from 1 January 2007 and retained for five years so NBA members are urged to get prepared now thus avoiding any panic when an inspector calls!
However, the good news is that most of these records are available on the farm, but the NBA stresses that they should be in the correct format so that appropriate calculations can be done.
 The main measures to be calculated are a Nitrogen loading limit of 170kgN/ha/year though a derogation for a higher limit is possible, a maximum chemical nitrogen application of 231kgN/ha on beef and sheep farms in 2009 though higher was allowed in 2007 and 2008. Each farm business must also have available 22 weeks livestock manure storage.
 A summary of the records needed:
• Stock numbers on 6 counts during the year – available from aphis, flock register etc
• Single Farm Payment/IACS field records
• Fertiliser purchases
• Soil analysis if Phosphate fertiliser is applied
• Controller agreements from the landlord if land is taken in conacre or leased, including common grazing and is not being claimed for SFP. The ‘controller’ must be responsible for complying with the Nitrates and Phosphorus Regulations from 1 January to 31 December of each calendar year.
• Storage capacity - size of slurry tanks, lagoons and stores for collection of slurry, silage effluent and yard run-off where cattle have access.
• Volume of slurry produced during the winter months from livestock when they are housed. Effluent from middens/dunghills also needs to be safely collected and added to the calculation.
• Livestock can be out-wintered and manure produced excluded, but will depend on the type of livestock (not dairy cows), the annual stocking rate and the stocking rate on the out-wintered area.
The NBA urges beef farmers to be aware of cross-compliance regulations and seek professional help where necessary.
For further information and advice contact Oisin Murnion, NI region Chairman, National Beef Association, tel; 077396 32048
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