Environmental issues will become the next big challenge for farmers and will form a large part of the agenda for organisations such as the Ulster Farmers' Union, according to Deputy President, Victor Chestnutt.

The Deputy President was part of the team leading the annual UFU President's meeting in the Killyhevlin Hotel, Enniskillen on Monday night which was attended by a large number of farmers.

He told the audience that ammonia emissions along with greenhouse gases and climate change would result in farmers have to make some changes to farming practices such as adopting low emission slurry spreading techniques to reduce nitrogen loss.

"It looks like the environment will be the biggest thing going forward but we must see it as an opportunity and not a threat," said Victor Chestnutt.

"We want to leave our farms better than how we got them and farmers must shape the environment," he said.

Earlier, UFU President, Ivor Ferguson, voiced his concerns at the decision by Shared Environmental Services to change planning rules for assessing ammonia for farm applications without any warning or consultation. He reiterated how the decision which the Union has made a legal challenge against, would put NI farmers at a competitive disadvantage.

The new policy, says the UFU, is much stricter than the NIEA rules and the changes make it virtually impossible for farm businesses to meet the thresholds.

"For example if the farm business is sited within 7.5 km of certain designated sites, their application will more than likely be denied. The roll out of this means that the vast majority of farmers across NI will be unable to build and develop their business if the new rules remain in place.”

The UFU has challenged the SES planning change on grounds of illegality, procedural unfairness, failure to consult, irrationality, material considerations and lack of adequate reasons for why guidance was changed.

SES was established in 2015 to assist Councils in carrying out Habitats Regulations Assessments for planning applications.

At the meeting on Monday evening, Mr. Ferguson indicated how the UFU were backed in their legal challenge by major businesses in the agri-food industry and he felt they had a good chance to have their challenge upheld.

The meeting on Monday covered many topics including Brexit, future support payments, the Environment Farming Scheme and with devolved government back in Stormont.

He said that the DUP had referred to many of the concerns in agriculture in their election manifesto and now their MLA, Edwin Poots has been appointed Agriculture Minister.

The UFU President said there was positivity looking ahead to the opportunity to meet the Minister to make decisions which are needed to take agriculture forward in a post-Brexit era.

The UFU Presidential team revealed how agricultural support payments were guaranteed during the life of the current Parliament and that 2020 payments would remain the same in sterling terms as 2019.

Some farmers in the audience raised some important points. Referring to the nitrates regulations, one farmer said it would be better if DAERA provided grants for liming to improve the PH in grassland as a lot of the fertiliser applied as lost to the atmosphere.

Another, making a point about the review over fencing grants under the EFS, said this fencing improved biosecurity on many farms so it was ticking the boxes for TB control as well.

More from the meeting will be reported in next week's issue.