Details of the Nitrates Action Plan (NAP) consultation reveal a proposed register of chemical fertiliser sales in Ireland.
Around 2,000 nitrates-related inspections are undertaken on farms across Ireland each year. The NAP acknowledges that the majority of farmers are using chemical fertilisers in an efficient manner.
The register is intended to provide accurate tracking of fertiliser sales and give a clearer idea of where fertiliser is being applied to land.
Responsibility will be placed on suppliers to register chemical fertiliser sales against individual farmer’s herd numbers.
The document confirmed that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has already started drafting legislation for a national register of fertiliser sales.
It is understood that it will take up to two years to develop legislation and six months will be given afterwards for full compliance.
The data will be reported periodically to the department, where it will feed into analysis of farming activities and compliance with Good Agricultural Practice (GAP).
LSL News.