The existing slurry and soiled water storage requirements have been in place since the nitrates directive was implemented in Ireland in 2006. Current regulations require an allowance of 0.33 m3 (330 litres) per cow per week for slurry storage and 0.21m3 (210 litres) per cow per week for soiled water storage, plus an allowance for rainfall runoff for any adjacent uncovered areas contributing.
Preliminary findings are now emerging from an ongoing nationwide monitoring programme to assess current slurry and soiled water volumes produced, involving 100 dairy farms.
In 2022, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) requested that Teagasc outline a methodology to assess current volumes of dairy soiled water (DSW) and slurry produced on dairy farms to establish if current regulations are appropriate.
In response to this, a survey of 100 dairy farms was proposed.
The farms were selected to account for variability in location, climate, scale, stocking density and developmental stage and are representative of the wider dairy sector.
The current monitoring programme was put in place in full in the first half of 2023.
On each selected farm, a survey was completed to catalogue both the storage facilities and the typical management.
The information associated with management was used to establish the total known contributions to each tank.
In each independent storage tank, measuring equipment was installed to continuously monitor the volumes stored.
Findings from this study suggest that the volume of slurry produced is underestimated currently, as is the volume of soiled water produced on farms.
If the rates found in this study were to be adopted, slurry storage requirements would need to increase by approximately 20%, while soiled water storage requirements would need to increase by approximately 33%, outside of allowances for rainfall runoff. Additional data currently being collected will be published in summer 2025.
In the Infrastructure village at Moorepark 2025, we will be providing an overview of the work undertaken to assess slurry and soiled water volumes collected on farms and offer guidance on the potential changes to slurry and soiled water storage requirements. We will also showcase a range of slurry and soiled water storage options that can be considered
on farm.
DAFM will be in attendance to offer advice on TAMS 3 grants available to support investment in storage facilities and describe the steps involved in submitting an application to avail of these.
Updates to digital sustainability platform
AgNav (www.agnav.ie) is a free, voluntary digital sustainability platform available to farmers and advisers across Ireland, created through a partnership between Teagasc, Bord Bia, and the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation. AgNav was designed to support farmers in understanding and improving the sustainability of their farms, by creating bespoke farm plans to help farmers implement technical and environmental improvements on their farms.
AgNav is also supported by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and has great potential to help the agricultural sector achieve its national targets.
AgNav is built around the principles of the Three A’s: Assess, Analyse, and Act.
Assess: AgNav uses farm specific data to establish baseline figures across key environmental indicators, such as greenhouse gas emissions, ammonia emissions, and nutrient balance. This platform aims to provide a single, consistent ‘source of truth’ of environmental indicators for each farm. Analyse: AgNav offers a live decision support forecasting function, enabling farmers to evaluate the impact of changing various farm practices on their own key environmental indicators. Currently, the forecaster includes practices revolving around nitrogen fertiliser, slurry management, grazing season, Economic Breeding Index, age at finishing, and dairy concentrate feed. Act: Based on the forecaster analysis, farmers can identify which actions are most appropriate for their farm, allowing them to create a bespoke plan.Recent development in AgNav
AgNav was initially developed for dairy and beef enterprises, but has expanded to include tillage (launch 25 June 2025). Initially, the platform focused on providing greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions figures using existing datasets, reducing the administration burden on farmers.
In August 2024, as a result of industry demand, AgNav was expanded to include nutrient balances (nitrogen and phosphorus), helping to indicate nutrient loss risk on individual farms. By late 2024, soil carbon estimates also became available.
AgNav is currently used in the Teagasc Signpost Advisor Programme and in some processor programmes. Between AgNav’s launch in 2023 and mid June 2025, over 16,000 farmers have signed up to AgNav and over 9,700 bespoke action plans have been created.
AgNav will continue to expand enterprises beyond dairy, beef, and tillage. Research and development are currently ongoing for the inclusion of sheep, pigs, poultry (layers and broilers), horticulture, and forestry. New indicators, such as biodiversity, economics, and social metrics, will also be incorporated, along with enhanced forecasting tools for milk production, feed additives, replacement rates, and age at first calving. These improvements aim to strengthen AgNav’s value as a trusted decision support tool for improving sustainability on Irish farms.
Comparing Ireland’s dairy carbon footprints
The carbon footprint of Irish milk is one of the lowest of the major dairyexporting countries in Europe, when weighted by fat and protein corrected milk (FPCM) production. In addition, in recent years Ireland’s average dairy farm carbon footprint decreased by 6%, from 1.02 kg CO2eq FPCM in 2018 to 0.96 kg CO2eq FPCM in 2023. This reduction is a result of improvements in cow production efficiency and changes in fertilisation practices. Upcoming updates using Irish methane data are projecting the carbon footprint to further reduce to 0.88 kg CO2–eq FPCM.
AgNav will be available for use at Moorepark 2025. Come join us in the Environmental village to discuss a sustainability plan for your farm.
The existing slurry and soiled water storage requirements have been in place since the nitrates directive was implemented in Ireland in 2006. Current regulations require an allowance of 0.33 m3 (330 litres) per cow per week for slurry storage and 0.21m3 (210 litres) per cow per week for soiled water storage, plus an allowance for rainfall runoff for any adjacent uncovered areas contributing.
Preliminary findings are now emerging from an ongoing nationwide monitoring programme to assess current slurry and soiled water volumes produced, involving 100 dairy farms.
In 2022, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) requested that Teagasc outline a methodology to assess current volumes of dairy soiled water (DSW) and slurry produced on dairy farms to establish if current regulations are appropriate.
In response to this, a survey of 100 dairy farms was proposed.
The farms were selected to account for variability in location, climate, scale, stocking density and developmental stage and are representative of the wider dairy sector.
The current monitoring programme was put in place in full in the first half of 2023.
On each selected farm, a survey was completed to catalogue both the storage facilities and the typical management.
The information associated with management was used to establish the total known contributions to each tank.
In each independent storage tank, measuring equipment was installed to continuously monitor the volumes stored.
Findings from this study suggest that the volume of slurry produced is underestimated currently, as is the volume of soiled water produced on farms.
If the rates found in this study were to be adopted, slurry storage requirements would need to increase by approximately 20%, while soiled water storage requirements would need to increase by approximately 33%, outside of allowances for rainfall runoff. Additional data currently being collected will be published in summer 2025.
In the Infrastructure village at Moorepark 2025, we will be providing an overview of the work undertaken to assess slurry and soiled water volumes collected on farms and offer guidance on the potential changes to slurry and soiled water storage requirements. We will also showcase a range of slurry and soiled water storage options that can be considered
on farm.
DAFM will be in attendance to offer advice on TAMS 3 grants available to support investment in storage facilities and describe the steps involved in submitting an application to avail of these.
Updates to digital sustainability platform
AgNav (www.agnav.ie) is a free, voluntary digital sustainability platform available to farmers and advisers across Ireland, created through a partnership between Teagasc, Bord Bia, and the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation. AgNav was designed to support farmers in understanding and improving the sustainability of their farms, by creating bespoke farm plans to help farmers implement technical and environmental improvements on their farms.
AgNav is also supported by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and has great potential to help the agricultural sector achieve its national targets.
AgNav is built around the principles of the Three A’s: Assess, Analyse, and Act.
Assess: AgNav uses farm specific data to establish baseline figures across key environmental indicators, such as greenhouse gas emissions, ammonia emissions, and nutrient balance. This platform aims to provide a single, consistent ‘source of truth’ of environmental indicators for each farm. Analyse: AgNav offers a live decision support forecasting function, enabling farmers to evaluate the impact of changing various farm practices on their own key environmental indicators. Currently, the forecaster includes practices revolving around nitrogen fertiliser, slurry management, grazing season, Economic Breeding Index, age at finishing, and dairy concentrate feed. Act: Based on the forecaster analysis, farmers can identify which actions are most appropriate for their farm, allowing them to create a bespoke plan.Recent development in AgNav
AgNav was initially developed for dairy and beef enterprises, but has expanded to include tillage (launch 25 June 2025). Initially, the platform focused on providing greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions figures using existing datasets, reducing the administration burden on farmers.
In August 2024, as a result of industry demand, AgNav was expanded to include nutrient balances (nitrogen and phosphorus), helping to indicate nutrient loss risk on individual farms. By late 2024, soil carbon estimates also became available.
AgNav is currently used in the Teagasc Signpost Advisor Programme and in some processor programmes. Between AgNav’s launch in 2023 and mid June 2025, over 16,000 farmers have signed up to AgNav and over 9,700 bespoke action plans have been created.
AgNav will continue to expand enterprises beyond dairy, beef, and tillage. Research and development are currently ongoing for the inclusion of sheep, pigs, poultry (layers and broilers), horticulture, and forestry. New indicators, such as biodiversity, economics, and social metrics, will also be incorporated, along with enhanced forecasting tools for milk production, feed additives, replacement rates, and age at first calving. These improvements aim to strengthen AgNav’s value as a trusted decision support tool for improving sustainability on Irish farms.
Comparing Ireland’s dairy carbon footprints
The carbon footprint of Irish milk is one of the lowest of the major dairyexporting countries in Europe, when weighted by fat and protein corrected milk (FPCM) production. In addition, in recent years Ireland’s average dairy farm carbon footprint decreased by 6%, from 1.02 kg CO2eq FPCM in 2018 to 0.96 kg CO2eq FPCM in 2023. This reduction is a result of improvements in cow production efficiency and changes in fertilisation practices. Upcoming updates using Irish methane data are projecting the carbon footprint to further reduce to 0.88 kg CO2–eq FPCM.
AgNav will be available for use at Moorepark 2025. Come join us in the Environmental village to discuss a sustainability plan for your farm.
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