Northern Ireland: Nutrient action programme (NAP) 2019-2022

What you must do

All farmers in Northern Ireland must follow rules aimed at improving the use of nutrients on farms and reducing water pollution from agricultural sources.

You must comply with these regulations to avoid prosecution and possible fines, but also in order to meet the requirements of the Cross - Compliance, Verifiable Standards rules of the Single Farm Payment Scheme, and other direct payments from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA).

In April 2019 changes to the Nitrates Action Programme were made for the period 2019-2022. The new Regulations, the Nutrient Action Programme Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2019, revoke the Nitrates Action Programme Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014 and the Nitrates Action Programme (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015. They also revoke and incorporate the Phosphorus (Use in Agriculture) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014, and regulations 10 and 11 of the Pesticides, genetically modified Organisms and Fertilisers (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2018.

Nitrates Action Programme (NAP) – Activity Calendar

DAERA has produced an “Activity Calendar” This summarises the activity and date you need to take action by to ensure compliance with NAP.

Nitrates Action Programme (NAP) – Activity Calendar - updated Calendar coming soon

DAERA: NAP 2019-2022: Changes to NAP and New Measures

Cross compliance

Keep accurate records

You must prepare records for each calendar year by 30 June of the following year, and keep them for five years. These records must detail:

the identity of the controller of the land for the calendar year in question
agricultural area, field size and location

cropping regimes and areas, Soil Nutrient Supply (SNS) index for crops other than grassland
the soil nitrogen supply index for cropping areas other than grassland as estimated in accordance with the fertiliser technical standards
livestock numbers, types, species and time kept
capacity of livestock manure storage and where applicable the details of rented storage, authorised for storage of poultry litter or anaerobic digestate fibre in a field heap, farmyard manure production, out wintered livestock, manure separation and manure processing facilities utilised
details of any rental agreement for additional storage available off the holding or contract with a manure processing facility or access to an approved treatment/recovery outlet
if required under the Regulations, particulars of any communication given to the Department
amount of each type of nitrogen fertiliser applied, the certified nitrogen content of any chemical fertiliser applied and the total nitrogen content per tonne of other organic manures
quantity, date and nutrient content of anaerobic digestate applied
phosphorus soil test results, statement of crop requirement, quantity and date of phosphorus fertiliser applied; certified phosphorus content of any chemical fertiliser and available phosphorus content of all organic manures applied and type and date of any crop sown
evidence of control over the agricultural area and the right to graze common land
quantity of each type of nitrogen fertiliser moved on to and off the holding, the date of that movement and, in the case of organic manure, the name and address of the consignee, the consignor and any third party transporter of the manure
Records relating to the export of nitrogen fertiliser organic manure to be submitted annually to NIEA by 31 January of the following year and copy retained by the controller for 5 years

Fertilisation Plan

Where the controller is required to prepare and retain a fertilisation plan, describing crop rotation and the planned application of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilisers to their agricultural area, it shall be made available on the farm every year. The format and content of the fertilisation plan will be detailed in guidance and you can also do this using the CAFRE on-line crop nutrient calculator.

If you are operating under an approved derogation, you must keep your fertilisation plan on farm and have it ready for inspection by 1 March for that calendar year.

From January 2018, NIEA introduced a new system for the on-line submission of fertilisation accounts. For those farms operating under an approved derogation, the annual fertilisation account can be submitted on-line at the following link

DAERA: Fertilisation account login

DAERA: Nitrates Directive derogation fertilisation account

DAERA Nitrates Derogation fertilisation account guidance

Comply with closed spreading periods – Prevention of Water Pollution

Chemical nitrogen and phosphorus fertiliser must not be applied to grassland from midnight 15 September to midnight 31 January
All types of chemical fertiliser must not be applied to arable land from midnight 15 September to midnight 31 January, unless there is a demonstrable crop requirement
Organic manure, excluding farmyard manure and dirty water to any land is not permitted from 15 October to 31 January
You must not apply farmyard manure (FYM) to any land between 31 October and midnight 31 January
There is no closed spreading period for dirty water.

Spread fertiliser correctly

All fertiliser types (including slurry, farmyard manure and nitrogen fertiliser, must be applied accurately and uniformly as possible and must not be applied in a location or manner, which would make it likely that it will directly or indirectly enter waterways.

Slurry can only be spread by inverted splashplate, bandspreaders, dribble bar, trailing hose, trailing shoe, soil incorporation or soil injection. Dirty water can be spread by the same methods as slurry and by irrigation.

You must not use sludgigator type spreaders or upward facing splashplates.

Chemical fertiliser containing phosphorus must only be applied where soil analysis shows a crop requirement. Records must be kept to demonstrate this.

From 1 February 2020 you must not use an inverted splash plate to spread anaerobic digestate.

From 1 February 2021 Slurry contractors must not use an inverted splash plate to spread slurry.

From 1 February 2022 you must not spread slurry by inverted splash plate if your cattle farm has 200 or more livestock units or pig farm has a total annual livestock manure nitrogen production of 20,000kg or more.

Further guidance is available:

DAERA: Code of Good Agricultural Practice for the Reduction of Ammonia Emissions

Do not apply chemical fertilisers, organic manure or dirty water when:

soil is waterlogged, flooded or likely to flood
soil is frozen hard or snow-covered
heavy rain is falling or forecast within the next 48 hours
you have steeply sloping fields (that is an average incline of 20% or more for grassland or an average incline of 15% or more on all other land) where other risks of water pollution exist. Risk factors to be considered include the proximity to waterways, the length of time to incorporation, the type and amount of fertiliser applied and/or the soil and weather conditions
On less steep slopes (with an average incline of 15% or more on grassland or 12% or more on all other land), organic manures must not be applied within 30m of lakes and 15m of other waterways, chemical fertilisers must not be applied within 10m of lakes and 5m of other waterways.

The Nitrates Action Programme Guidance 2015-2018 Booklet includes additional advice on how to assess these risks.

DAERA: NAP 2019-2022: Changes to NAP and New Measures

DAERA: Code of Good Agricultural Practice for the Reduction of Ammonia Emissions

Do not apply any type of chemical fertiliser within 2m of any waterway.

Do not apply organic manure or dirty water within:

10m of a waterway, e.g. a river or field drain (the distance may be reduced to 3m of any waterway where the land has an average incline less than 10% towards the waterway and where organic manures are spread by bandspreaders, dribble bar, trailing shoe, trailing hose or soil injection or where the adjoining area is less than 1 ha in size or not more than 50m in width) (15m is substituted for 10m during Feb and from 30 Sept to 15 Oct)
15m of exposed, cavernous or karstified, limestone features (such as swallow-holes and collapse features)
20m of lakes (30m during month of February and period of 30 Sept to 15 Oct)
50m of a borehole, spring or well
250m of a borehole used for a public water supply.

Comply with spreading limits

You must follow legal limits when spreading nitrogen.

Do not apply more than:

272kgN/ha of chemical nitrogen fertiliser to grassland on dairy farms
222kgN/ha of chemical nitrogen fertiliser to grassland on other farms

For non-grassland crops, maximum nitrogen applied (from all types of fertiliser, including livestock manure) must not exceed crop requirement and, for certain arable crops, an N-Max limit applies to the total crop area.

Unless you have been granted a nitrates derogation, you must not apply more than 170kg of nitrogen per hectare per year (N/ha/year) of livestock manure, including manure deposited directly by livestock.

Do not apply more than:

50 tonnes per hectare of solid organic manure at one time. You must wait three weeks before spreading again.
50 cubic metres (m³) per hectare of slurry at one time. You must wait three weeks before spreading again. (30 cubic metres during Feb and from 30 Sept to 15 Oct)
50m³ per hectare of dirty water. You must wait two weeks before spreading again.

Slurry can only be spread close to the ground by inverted splashplate, band spreading,dribble bar, trailing shoe, trailing hose, soil injection or soil incorporation methods.

Dirty water can be spread by the same methods as slurry and by irrigation.

Sludgigators must not be used.

High Phosphorus Manures

Organic manure with more than 0.25kg of total phosphorus per 1 kg of total nitrogen (e.g. some anaerobic digestates) can only be applied where soil analysis shows there is a crop requirement for phosphorus. From 1 January 2020, where this applies, a fertilsation plan must be prepared and retained.

Nitrates Derogation

If you have a nitrates derogation you will be able to apply up to 250kg per hectare per year, as long as you meet certain criteria and:

have at least 80 percent grassland
have a farm phosphorus balance of no more than 10kg phosphorus per hectare per year
analyse the fertility of your soil
only apply the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus that your crops require
produce annual fertilisation plans and keep them up to date
submit annual records of fertilisation to the NIEA.

The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) has introduced a new simplified, online application process for farmers wishing to apply for a nitrates derogation from 2018. The deadline for applications in 2019 is the 31^st March at 23:59.

DAERA: Online Nitrates Derogation application service

Further guidance on the Nitrates Directive Derogation is available from NIEA

NIEA: Nitrates Directive Derogation Guidance 2015-2018

Location of supplementary feeding sites and livestock drinking points

From 1 January 2020, where there is significant risk of pollution to any waterway, supplementary feeding sites must not be located within 20 metres of any waterway. From 1 January 2022, where there is a significant risk of pollution to any waterway, supplementary livestock drinking points must not be located within 10 metres of any waterway.

Comply with livestock manure and silage effluent storage requirements

You must provide enough storage for the livestock manure and silage effluent that you accumulate during the spreading closed period. You must also ensure that your storage is adequate to cover periods of adverse weather and soil conditions outside of the closed spreading period. You should account for likely adverse weather when you decide how much storage you need.

Livestock manure and silage effluent storage must be maintained and managed to prevent seepage or run-off. Silage bales must be stored at least 10m from any waterway and stored and managed in such a way as to prevent seepage onto the waterway.

You must have enough storage capacity for:

26 weeks' livestock manure storage capacity for pig and poultry enterprises
Minimum of 22 weeks storage capacity for other enterprises.

From 1 January 2020 if you are planning to build a new above ground slurry store you must ensure it is fitted with a cover. It must be at least 50m from a waterway unless adequate precautions are agreed in writing with NIEA in advance.

You must ensure that any farmyard manure you store in a field is:

stored in a compact heap
spread in that field
not stored for more than 120 days
stored in a different location in the field each year
kept more than 20m from any waterways
kept more than 50m from any lake, borehole, spring, well, swallow-holes and collapse features
kept more than 250m from any borehole used for a public water supply.

Rules on the storage of poultry litter in field heaps.

You must ensure that any poultry litter you store in a field is:

stored in accordance with an authorisation granted by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency
stored in a compact heap
spread in that field
not stored for more than 120 days
stored in a different location in the field each year
covered with an impermeable membrane within 24 hours of being put in the field
kept more than 40m from any waterways
kept more than 100m from any lake
kept more than 50m from any borehole, spring, well, swallow-holes and collapse features
kept more than 250m from any borehole used for a public water supply.

You must ensure that all new, substantially enlarged or reconstructed facilities for storing slurry comply with the relevant regulations.

Land management

Cover in winter

After harvesting a crop other than grass, you must ensure that from harvest until 15 January in the following year one of the following conditions is met on that land at any time:

The stubble of the harvested crop remains in the land; or

(a) the land is sown with a crop which will take up nitrogen from the soil, or

(b) where soil or weather conditions prevent a subsequent crop from being sown, appropriate measures are put in place to limit soil erosion.

Crop management

Where grass leys are grown in rotation with arable crops, you should sow the first crop as soon as possible after you have ploughed the grass.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Northern Ireland

Any person intending to alter the use or management of areas of uncultivated or semi-natural land must obtain prior approval from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA). DAERA will screen all such applications and any that are likely to have significant environmental effects will be requested to prepare an Environmental Impact Assessment before a decision on whether the project can go ahead is given. It is an offence to carry out any such work without prior permission from DAERA.

Further information

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