Environment Newsletter - April 2021

Get the latest information & advice from the Teagasc Environment team in this month's newsletter. It includes: Dates for your diary; Mandatory derogation requirements from January 1, 2021; and Message from ASSAP: Is your silage storage fit for purpose?.

View newsletter here: Environment Newsletter - April 2021 (PDF)

In this edition:

• Dates for your diary
  From April 1: Green Low-carbon Agri-environment Scheme (GLAS) fields for geese and swans can be grazed and machinery can be used with no restrictions, as the birds have returned to Iceland and Greenland for the summer.
  From April 15: close GLAS Traditional Hay Meadow areas.
  Since March 15: no topping of GLAS Traditional Hay Meadow or GLAS Low-Input Permanent Pasture.
  GLAS Wild Bird Cover: since March 15 animals allowed access (except areas of second-year kale) to help decomposition. Crops must be re-sown by May 31.
  
• Mandatory derogation requirements from January 1, 2021
  Comments on each of the 12 measures
• Message from ASSAP: Is your silage storage fit for purpose?
  Silage effluent is highly polluting and can cause fish deaths in watercourses and contaminate wells if not collected, stored and spread properly on land. Volume can range from 0-350 litres per tonne of grass. Now is the time to examine facilities.