Slurry Spreading Season Extended

Last week the Welsh Government announced it will be extending the period during which farmers are permitted to spread slurry on their fields before winter. Spreading will now be allowed into November 15th, giving farmers more time to empty their stores before the winter months, when more livestock are kept indoors and slurry is generated at a faster rate.

The decision follows an exceptionally dry summer, which has affected the life cycles of crops and grasses. Farm operations such as grass cutting have been pushed back later in the year, narrowing the window in which slurry can be spread. As a result, slurry stores around the country are much fuller than they would normally be.

What is the 'closed period'?

Welsh legislation forbids the spreading of slurry during a 'closed period' between October and January, when higher rainfall increases the risk of slurry being washed into rivers. This means slurry has to be stored on farms for a significant chunk of the year until there is an opportunity to spread it.

Why does it matter?

While the extension may be necessary in the short term to relieve pressure on slurry storage, it also means that a significant amount of slurry will be spread at a time when there is a high risk of it polluting our waterways. With hot weather and droughts predicted to become much more frequent due to anthropogenic climate change, perhaps it is time to look for more long-term solutions for slurry storage and spreading.

Longer-term solutions

As well as increasing farms' storage capacity, for which grants are often available, there are improvements that can be made to existing infrastructure:

• Covered slurry stores stop rainwater entering the system and filling up tanks, and make it less likely that slurry will accidentally enter the environment as runoff. Covering stores also reduces ammonia emissions into the atmosphere.

• Weeping walls are semi-permeable barriers that separate slurry into its 'wet' and 'dry' components. This reduces pressure on storage tanks, as dry slurry doesn't need the same specialist structures to prevent leakage.