The deadline to spread slurry is fast approaching, taking place a week earlier than last year.

The closed period for slurry application this autumn in Ireland commences on Tuesday 1 October, on all farms.

Meanwhile, farmers must have farmyard manure applied before 1 November.

Farmers in zone A, which includes Carlow, Cork, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Offaly, Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow, can’t spread slurry or farmyard manure again until 12 January 2025.

The earliest date in which farmers in zone B, which consists of counties Clare, Galway, Kerry, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Roscommon, Sligo and Westmeath, can spread slurry or farmyard manure is 15 January.

Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim and Monaghan, which are in zone C, can’t spread slurry or farmyard manure until 31 January.

Fertiliser

Meanwhile, last Saturday was the last day for fertiliser applications. If farmers still have fertiliser stocks on-farm, they must be recorded on the fertiliser database as ‘closing stocks’.