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Grassland Management Measure of Nitrate Derogation 2020

Clarification of DAFM Nitrates & Biodiversity Division. Circular No. 01/2021. An amendment to the following requirement under the Grassland Management Measure has taken place;

Derogation farmers must participate in grassland management requirements from 2020 including grass measuring and annual grass production recording. They must record through appropriate software technology the grass produced annually on the farm from 2020. Under the 2020 Terms and Conditions, prior to this amendment, there was a requirement to take a minimum of 20 grass measurements per annum on the main grazing platform only (Feb (1), March (2), April to Sept (14), Oct (2) and Nov (1)). If Derogation farmers haven’t  the required skills to undertake this measure, they must undertake training in grassland management which must be completed by the end of 2021.  

This amendment reduces the minimum requirement of grass measurements per annum from 20 to 10 for 2020. This means that any farmer who has carried out and recorded 10 measurements or greater satisfies the requirement for 2020, but must under take the current minimum requirement of 20 in 2021.

Therefore, Nitrate Derogation farmers must;

  • grass measure in '20 (with minimum of 10 recordings) or do grassland training course by end 21, in order to satisfy 2020 obligation;
  • grass measure in '21 (with minimum of 20 recordings) or do grassland training course by end '21, in order to satisfy 2021 obligation;

NOTE; Grass measuring in 2021 does not satisfy the 2020 requirement (to do the training course if grass measuring was not carried out in 2020).

A course carried out pre 2020 does not exempt farmer from grass measuring in 2020.

Download DAFM Nitrates & Biodiversity Division. Circular No. 01/2021  (PDF)