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Record rainfall has left farmers struggling to manage slurry this season, creating significant challenges across farms in Northern Ireland. Mervyn Gordon, a dairy farmer with a herd of 250 cows, describes the situation on his farm as “hectic.” He depends on a large storage tank that holds 400,000 gallons of slurry beneath the shed where his cattle spend the winter months. Typically, this slurry would be spread on grasslands this time of year, allowing the nutrients to absorb well ahead of the first silage cut planned for May. However, persistent wet weather has caused delays, also impacting early potato planting.
Slurry plays an essential role in farm operations as it contains valuable nutrients from animal manure and run-off water that aid the growth of grass and crops. Farmers store this natural fertiliser during winter when livestock are housed indoors, using it in spring to encourage healthy plant development. Nevertheless, slurry’s high nutrient content requires adherence to strict regulations regarding when and how it can be applied. In Northern Ireland, slurry spreading is prohibited between 15 October and 31 January to protect water quality during the time when plants are dormant and cannot absorb nutrients. Once the closed period ends, spreading can only resume if ground and weather conditions are suitable.
On his 300-acre farm located near the North Sperrins, Mervyn Gordon faces additional pressures exacerbated by a bovine tuberculosis outbreak that has forced a closure of his farm. This situation prevents the movement of additional stock, increasing slurry production further. “That has added a wee bit of extra pressure,” Gordon explained, noting they had to find alternative management strategies to avoid running out of storage space. His daily slurry output can reach up to 6,000 gallons, making the delays caused by the weather especially challenging. A robot scraper regularly clears the cattle shed floor of manure, pushing it into the massive slurry tank below, but any delays quickly pile up. Gordon noted, “Jobs that you would be doing now, all that’s piling up,” adding, “You’ll just be working night and day once the weather turns good.”
The bad weather has also impacted early potato planting, an important seasonal task for local growers. Angus Wilson, Chief Executive of Wilson’s Country — a supplier of potatoes throughout the year — said February usually marks the start of early potato planting, but excessive rainfall has made it impossible so far this year. “However, nature usually has a way of re-balancing, so we are hopeful to get planting in the next month and see the crop grow even faster in the warmer mid or late spring weather,” he commented. Meanwhile, the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) warns that rigid planning rules compound these difficulties, restricting farmers’ ability to modernise and manage nutrients effectively on their farms. UFU Deputy President John McLenaghan described the increasing storage pressures as “difficult conditions” for farms trying to comply with environmental standards, urging the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) to allow “appropriate” flexibility. He encouraged farmers facing storage or welfare challenges to seek advice from their UFU technical officers
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