Government tells NFUS it will not apply to have NVZ closed periods altered

The Scottish Government has turned down a request from NFU Scotland to extend the period when farmers in areas officially classified as Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZ) are permitted to apply organic fertiliser.

NFUS said farmers are “acutely aware” of their obligations not to spread farmyard manure and slurry during the closed periods, but said heavy rain and the late harvest has limited the opportunity for farmers in some NVZ areas to apply fertiliser ahead of the closed periods, which vary according to the crop.

The NVZ rules only allow the spread of slurry or manure on sandy or shallow soils up to 15 September if a cereal crop is sown before that date, or 30 September if the crop sown is oilseed rape.

A spokesman said the government recognised the wet weather was creating difficulties, but confirmed that making a request to Europe for flexibility in the NVZ programme was not being considered.

NFUS said it will work with the government and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) to get advice to all Scottish farmers who may be struggling with slurry or manure storage.

Jonnie Hall, NFUS head of rural policy, said: “Ground conditions across the country are far from ideal at the moment and many field operations, including the spreading of organic manures, are proving to be a headache for many Scottish farmers.

“For those in NVZ areas, that headache is compounded by closed periods when spreading is severely restricted.”

Conditions this year mean much less land has been sown to cereals than normal and many farmers in NVZs cannot now legally apply organic material to land intended for winter crops.

Hall said: “The existing situation may also result in slurry storage problems.

“Given the rainfall across the country, that could be an issue for all farmers and not just those in NVZs who must also cope with closed periods.”

He added that if changes to weather patterns prove to be long term, and wetter autumns the norm, then consideration would have to be given as to whether the dates of closed periods in NVZs needed to change.