PORTALS NOW OPEN: Nitrates Derogation Applications, Dairy Banding 2024
- Published on: 12 March 2024
- Last updated on: 12 April 2025
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, today announced that the 2024 Nitrates Derogation application system is now available online. The Minister also confirmed that the ICBF portal for Dairy farmers to indicate their Nitrates Dairy Banding is now open for declarations and that N and P statements for 2023 are available on-line also.
The 2024 Nitrates Derogation applications can be submitted using the department’s online portal, www.agfood.ie.
The Nitrates Dairy Band for dairy herds can now be submitted online via the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) website.
The Minister said:
"The Nitrates Derogation provides farmers with an opportunity to farm at higher stocking rates, subject to certain conditions designed to protect the environment and meet the requirements of the Nitrates Directive. I encourage more intensively stocked farmers to engage as soon as possible with this application process and to discuss the need for a derogation with their agricultural advisor."
Farmers who don’t wish to avail of the derogation can also remain compliant with the Regulations by managing their livestock or exporting slurry/farmyard manure.
The closing date for derogation applications and dairy banding submissions is 19 April 2024. Farmers who applied for a derogation in 2023 are also reminded they must submit Fertiliser Accounts for 2023 by the closing date.
Last year saw the introduction of Nitrates banding for dairy cows and this will apply again in 2024. This is best achieved by availing of the ICBF website. Where a dairy farmer has not consented to their milk purchaser sharing their data with ICBF, these farms will need to complete a manual form and provide supporting milk purchaser statements. The 2024 Nitrates banding form is available to download on the department’s website at: www.gov.ie/nitrates.
As part of other adjustments, the option for a dairy farmer to feed a lower level of crude protein to their herd and achieve a reduced N excretion rate has been included on the ICBF portal.
The Minister said:
"To allow farmers to plan and seek recognition for these proposed changes in 2024, I am allowing dairy farmers to avail of this option to reduce their herd’s excretion rate by declaring their intention to feed lower crude protein concentrates to their cows in 2024 and then following through on this during the year."
This opt-in measure will only be available to those who declare their band through ICBF.
Nitrogen and Phosphorus statements (N&P Statements) for the period 1 January to 31 December 2023 (cattle only) are now available on the department’s online system www.agfood.ie.
Notes
Nitrates Derogation
The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage are the lead government department in relation to the Nitrates Regulations. (S.I. No. 113 of 2022, as amended).
The Nitrates Derogation allows farmers to exceed the limit of 170 kg of livestock manure nitrogen per hectare set down in the Nitrates Regulations, up to a maximum of 220 kg or 250 kg per hectare, subject to adherence to stricter rules.
The European Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/696 granting Ireland’s current Nitrates Derogation, required Ireland to undertake a two-year review of water quality in 2023.Certain areas that met the criteria as set down by the EU decision are obliged to move to a reduced derogation limit of 220 kg N/ha from January 2024.
For a Nitrates Derogation application to be valid, all terms and conditions of the Derogation must be adhered to. Derogation information including Terms and Conditions is available on the department’s website at: www.gov.ie/nitrates.
Fertiliser accounts must be submitted to the department in the case of 2023 derogation applicants, by 19 April 2024.
Nitrates Dairy Banding
Until the end of 2022 all dairy cows in Ireland were considered equal producing 89kg of livestock manure nitrogen per head per year. However scientific research shows increasing milk yield also increases the dairy cow’s nutrient excretion rate. Banding dairy cow excretion rates reflects this research and was introduced for all dairy farmers in Ireland to equalize the maximum nutrient load across farms.
From 2023 each dairy herd is assigned to one of three bands (either 80, 92 or 106 kg N/dairy cow/year), each year based on the herd’s average annual milk yield per cow.
Last year 92% of dairy farmers submitted their band to DAFM, and 98% of these were submitted via the ICBF portal, while the remainder were submitted manually to DAFM. Dairy farmers who don’t submit their band will automatically be defaulted to the highest band.
Last October, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine requested that Teagasc undertake research regarding bovine nutrient excretion rates. This included consideration of the impact that reducing crude protein in concentrates fed to dairy cows has on the cow's nutrient excretion rate. The findings were thereafter reviewed and validated by University College Dublin.
Current N excretion rates bands are based on a dairy herd consuming an annual average protein content of >16% in concentrate feedstuff. Teagasc research shows the dairy cow’s nutrient excretion rate can be reduced through a reduction in the level of crude protein in concentrate feed as follows:
| Crude protein | Nitrogen excretion rates across three Average Milk Yield Bands | ||
| Concentrate* | <=4,500 kg | 4,501-6,500kg | >6,500kg |
| Default | 80 | 92 | 106 |
| >14% & ≤15% | 79 | 90 | 103 |
| >13 % & ≤14% | 78 | 89 | 100 |
| ≤13% | 76 | 87 | 98 |
- Fresh Weight basis
Additional information on banding, including answers to frequently asked questions, is also available on the department's website.
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