Environment Newsletter - October 2021

The latest edition of the Environment newsletter has information on: Key management dates; Shop windows; Have that conversation; Know your derogation commitments; and EIP Update - Comeragh upland communities.
View it here: Environment Newsletter - October 2021 (PDF)
- Key management dates
- 14 October - Last date for spreading slurry, as the closed period starts on October 15.
- 15 October - Last date for ploughing grassland until December 1.
- 31 October - Closing date for online submission by derogation farms exporting organic manures and verification by receiver of Record 3. Last date for phosphorus (P) on winter cereals on soils with P index 1 and 2. Last date for spreading farmyard manure (FYM).
- 5 November - Closing date for Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) applications.
- 1 December - Catch crops for Green Low-carbon Agri-environment Scheme (GLAS) or Greening can be grazed or removed.
- 31 December - Closing date for online submission and verification of Form 3 for farmers not in derogation for exporting organic manures. Closing date for submission of Form 4 (Temporary movement of livestock) and Form 5 (Short-term grazing agreements).
- Shop windows
Our hedges are like our shop window – to have our farm aesthetically pleasing is important, and the consumer is looking for biodiversity and sustainability. Teagasc advice for farmers on hedge cutting depends on the hedge type. Firstly, for any escaped hedges which have grown up into a line of trees, Teagasc advice is to side trim only and not to top. Secondly, for any hedges that have been topped, Teagasc advice is to let them grow up to a height of 1.5m or up to the height the hedge cutter can reach. - Have that conversation
Farmers and contractors need to have a conversation in order to change the perception of a well-kept hedge. The contractor is paid to do whatever the farmer wants done. Farmers need to pick up the phone, talk to the contractor and explain what they want, and the contractor will deliver. - Know your derogation commitments
Adopt at least one measure
1. Leave at least one mature whitethorn or blackthorn tree within each 300 metres of hedgerow.
2. Maintain hedgerows on a three-year cycle. - EIP Update - Comeragh upland communities
The Teagasc Comeragh Hill Sheep Discussion Group in Co. Waterford was one of 24 groups chosen to implement their projects over the next year, following a Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) open call for farm and community biodiversity initiatives.