An Irish Farmers Association county chair has reiterated calls for the Department of Agriculture to investigate alternatives to the splash plate ban for hill farmers.
A motion brought forward by the IFA Tipperary County chair, Baden Powell, against the ban on splash plate slurry spreaders for hill farmers received the full support of the other county chairs at an IFA executive meeting held this week.
In October 2024, 350 farmers in Tipperary signed a petition against the splash plate ban which still came into effect from the start of 2025.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, Powell said that the urgency for the issue has dried up due to the recent warm weather, however, Met Éireann has forecasted wetter conditions for the coming weeks.
“This spring has been exceptionally dry so farmers have managed pretty well but the contractors, they basically said that they can’t get on the high land with the LESS (low emissions slurry spreading) equipment.
“The only way to make it onto the uplands is with small tanks but when I put it to the room yesterday, I got the support from all the counties; all counties have some of this upland. That gave me a bit of heart and I will continue to lobby it.”
IFA environment chair John Murphy proposed further research into the Moscha swivel spreader as an alternative to the LESS equipment.
Alternatives
During a public meeting in Tipperary, farmers raised concerns around the safety of using LESS equipment on steep slopes as well as the financial burden on farmers.
The IFA County chair urged the Department to explore additives as a separate means of reducing slurry emissions.
In addition, IFA environment chair John Murphy proposed further research into the Moscha swivel spreader as an alternative to the LESS equipment.
“We are aware that farmers have to do their bit but we’d like all the ideas to be investigated and entertained so that we can come up with a solution,” added Powell.
“Other countries have little caveats that they’re able to look after their hill farmers, I think we need to look into it.”
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An Irish Farmers Association county chair has reiterated calls for the Department of Agriculture to investigate alternatives to the splash plate ban for hill farmers.
A motion brought forward by the IFA Tipperary County chair, Baden Powell, against the ban on splash plate slurry spreaders for hill farmers received the full support of the other county chairs at an IFA executive meeting held this week.
In October 2024, 350 farmers in Tipperary signed a petition against the splash plate ban which still came into effect from the start of 2025.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, Powell said that the urgency for the issue has dried up due to the recent warm weather, however, Met Éireann has forecasted wetter conditions for the coming weeks.
“This spring has been exceptionally dry so farmers have managed pretty well but the contractors, they basically said that they can’t get on the high land with the LESS (low emissions slurry spreading) equipment.
“The only way to make it onto the uplands is with small tanks but when I put it to the room yesterday, I got the support from all the counties; all counties have some of this upland. That gave me a bit of heart and I will continue to lobby it.”
IFA environment chair John Murphy proposed further research into the Moscha swivel spreader as an alternative to the LESS equipment.
Alternatives
During a public meeting in Tipperary, farmers raised concerns around the safety of using LESS equipment on steep slopes as well as the financial burden on farmers.
The IFA County chair urged the Department to explore additives as a separate means of reducing slurry emissions.
In addition, IFA environment chair John Murphy proposed further research into the Moscha swivel spreader as an alternative to the LESS equipment.
“We are aware that farmers have to do their bit but we’d like all the ideas to be investigated and entertained so that we can come up with a solution,” added Powell.
“Other countries have little caveats that they’re able to look after their hill farmers, I think we need to look into it.”
Read more
Slurry spout swivels up the sales
Over 350 farmers sign petition against splash plate ban
Excluding dribble bar from TAMS is 'not based on science' – ICSA
Making best use of slurry separation
SHARING OPTIONS