Farmers have this week been reminded of the looming deadline for submitting Nitrates Action Programme (NAP) export records.
As Alan Morrow, DARD Countryside Management Delivery Branch, explained, the deadline of January 31 is for farmers to submit records of slurry and all other organic manures exported from their farms during 2015 to NIEA.
Many farmers, he said, export their surplus livestock manure and slurry to neighbouring farms where a nutrient deficit exists. This makes both sound business and environmental management sense. It minimises the amount of chemical fertiliser that the importing farmer needs to purchase and reduces the risk of applying slurry and manure on nutrient rich land, with the likely negative impact on water quality in the local river catchment. 
He explained: “If you do not submit your records on time, the information cannot be taken into account for calculating the livestock manure nitrogen loading on your farm at a future inspection. If your farm is over the livestock manure nitrogen loading limit of 170kg/ha/year you will be in breach of the NAP Regulations and could be subject to a cross compliance penalty.”
 “You are required to keep a record of the quantity and type of each manure moved off your holding, the date moved and the name and address of whom it was exported to. This applies regardless of whether the export is in the north or elsewhere. The farm business identification numbers of the importer’s farm business must be recorded and, if a third party transports the manure, their name and address must also be recorded.
 Further guidance, a sample record sheet and details of how to submit organic manure export records can be found in the ‘Nitrates Action Programme 2015-2018 and Phosphorus Regulations Guidance Booklet’. The publication is available on the DARD website (https://www.dardni.gov.uk/publications/2015-2018-nitrates-action-programme-and-phosphorus-regulations-and-associated-documents) and the NIEA website (https://www.doeni.gov.uk/publications/nitrates-action-programme-2015-2018-and-phosphorus-regulations-guidance-booklet).
The Ulster Farmers’ Union also said the changes to the single farm payment regime could leave farmers with a slurry problem.  
As changes may have been made to the land area being farmed, farmers may find that they have fewer acres to average out slurry spreading.  Under nitrates regulations farmers must be able to show they have not put more than 170 kg of nitrogen per hectare on their land over a year. But where changes have happened to the land area farmed, often because of the loss of conacre, farmers could find themselves exceeding this average and to comply with the regulation they would need to ‘export’ slurry off the farm.
Under the previous Nitrates Action Programme (2011-2014) a record of all organic manure exports off the farm must be recorded and available during an inspection. However, under the new NAP (2015-2018) these records must now be submitted to NIEA by 31 January for the previous calendar year.  As a result records for 1 January to 31 December 2015 must be submitted by the end of this month.  If the records are not submitted the slurry export will not be included when calculating a farm’s nitrogen loading.
Records sent to NIEA must cover the date moved, type of livestock manure, quantity (tonnes or cubic metres), the transporter’s name and address, and the importers name and business ID.  If a business ID is not available, an address and signature must be included. The UFU would also advise should a farmer send their completed export form via post that they send it using recorded delivery as verification that the forms have been sent to NIEA. 
Exports of livestock manure (including poultry litter and slurry) to the Republic of Ireland are regulated by Animal By-Product (ABP) legislation. This involves completing an application form for authorisation to export. 
The UFU says it accepts that the regulations are complex and onerous but warns that farmers have a legal obligation to comply, regardless of whether or not they are claiming area-based scheme payments. It says failure to do so could lead to legal action against a farm business by NIEA.
The nitrogen content of cattle slurry specified in the 2015 – 18 NAP Regulations is now 2.6 kgN/m3 which is in line with the DEFRA Fertiliser Manual (RB209) (latest (8th) edition).  Previously, dairy cattle slurry was 3.0 kgN/m3 and beef cattle slurry was 2.3 kgN/m3. This means that as the nitrogen content of dairy cattle slurry has decreased. A dairy farmer will now need to export a higher volume of slurry to achieve the same nitrogen export as had been achieved in previous years. The nitrogen content of pig slurry has increased from 3.0 kgN/m3 to 3.6 kgN/m3, so pig farmers can now export a lower volume to move the same quantity of nitrogen from their farms as calculated under the previous Regulations.
You need to keep a record of the quantity and type of each manure moved off your holding, the date moved and the name and address of whom it was exported to. This applies regardless of whether the export is within Northern Ireland or elsewhere. The farm business identification numbers of the importer’s farm business must be recorded and, if a third party transports the manure, their name and address must also be recorded.
A series of 15 courses on Nitrates and Nutrient Management Planning have been arranged by CAFRE staff at venues across Northern Ireland in the coming months. Each course consists of two evenings, with the first one covering in detail recent changes to the Nitrates regulations. 
The second evening will cover nutrient management planning which is about soil analysis and getting the levels of slurry, manure and fertiliser correct to improve soil fertility, at least cost and in line with Nitrates regulations.  To attend please book online at: http://www.cafre.ac.uk/agri-environment-topics/ or call CAFRE on 028 9442 6880.