Some 48% of farmers who applied for a nitrates derogation in 2023 have 150 livestock units (LUs) or less, according to figures provided by Minister for Agriculture Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue.
A livestock unit is a reference unit which allows the aggregation of livestock from various species and ages on the same farm holding.
A single livestock unit does not necessarily refer to one animal. For bovines, one dairy cow is equal to one LU, as is a male over the age of two. Younger bovines account for LU values ranging from 0.4 to 0.8 (other animals such sheep, pigs and poultry account for even smaller fractions of an LU).
In a recent parliamentary question, independent Roscommon-Galway TD Michael Fitzmaurice asked Minister McConalogue to provide the number of farmers in derogation, and the number of those farmers with over 700 LUs.
Responding to Fitzmaurice, the minister said that specific figures relating to the number of LUs on derogation farms was not available to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
However, the department does have figures for the total nitrates produced on the each derogation applicant’s holding in 2023.
In responding to Fitzmaurice’s question, an LU value for each farm was calculated by dividing the total nitrogen production on each derogation applicant’s holding by 92, as 92kg is regarded as the livestock manure nitrogen output for each dairy cow in the majority of herds nationally.
This methodology was applied to 7,298 derogation applicants in 2023. However, the final number of farms approved for a nitrates derogation in 2023 was slightly lower than that due to the finalisation checks.
Using that methodology, the minister provided the following table in response to Fitzmaurice’s question:
No. of LUs held by derogation applicants (2023) Number of applicants 0-50 293 51-100 1,301 101-150 1,910 151-200 1,460 201-300 1,382 301-400 514 401-500 227 501-600 94 601-700 57 Over 700 60 Total applicants 7,298
Minister McConalogue recently warned that the result of the removal of the nitrates derogation in Ireland “would inevitably be consolidated and larger farms”.
The nitrates derogation was the focus of a Dáil debate during which Minister Charlie McConalogue delivered a strong rebuke to the People Before Profit-Solidarity TD, Paul Murphy, when he asked if the minister believed the “nitrates derogation overwhelmingly benefits a wealthier minority of intensive farmers”.
In response to the question Minister McConalogue told Deputy Murphy that “a trip beyond the M50, walking around a few farms, meeting a few farmers and going to the odd mart across the country would certainly help inform his approach and insight into this”.