Farmers see Moorepark's blueprint for cleaner water in action at open day
The Teagasc farm at Moorepark, Fermoy, Co Cork, was visited by dairy farmers from all over Ireland at the recent open day, and they heard about the farm's water quality challenge, and what is being done about it (the farm is also restricted due to a bovine TB outbreak, so visitors got a dose of farming reality on the double).
The farm is in a catchment of the Funshion river, which rises in the Galtee Mountains at Kilbeheny, and flows southward, then westward, before flowing southeast through Glanworth and draining into the Munster Blackwater about 3.5km downriver of Fermoy. It passes through the Moorepark farm.
The Funshion catchment on each side of the motorway in north Cork has four Environmental Protection Agency water quality monitoring stations. Their results show the area's "moderate" ecological status, and average nitrate concentrations of 3.5 to 4mg/l, exceeding the estuarine standard of 2.6mg/L.
Teagasc has also been measuring nitrate leaching from pastures, using ceramic cups at the root zone level about a metre below the soil surface. The figures were higher at Moorepark (8.34 to 11.03) and at Teagasc's Curtins farm, Fermoy (6.2 to 9.55), compared to the farm at Teagasc's Clonakilty Agricultural College (2.35 to 4.89).
Water quality improvements are needed in the Funshion area to achieve the objectives of the EU Water Framework Directive (and as part of the water quality improvement needed to secure Ireland's nitrates derogation).
Under the guidance of the Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme advisers, several measures in the Better Farming for Water Campaign and the Farming for Water EIP have been, or will be implemented, in Moorepark.
These measures include a rainwater management plan, which is a basic feature of the Farming for Water EIP. It is a detailed evaluation and mapping of water flow in the farmyard and the surrounding land.
Another Farming for Water basic, nitrogen surplus reduction, is being carried out by improving soil fertility, optimising fertiliser application and timing, and using white and red clover swards to replace chemical fertiliser, and plantain in swards to reduce nitrate leaching.
Precision nitrogen spreading is also used.
Other Farming for Water measures at Moorepark are tree-planting along waterways, water bars (on farm roadways to divert run-off away from rivers and streams), sediment traps, willow filter beds, and a farmyard settlement tank (a two-chamber tank to help filter and "polish" water before it reaches the drainage network).
About 8km of native hedgerows have been established on the Moorepark farm, helping to reduce overland flow, and supporting biodiversity.
In 2023, three hectares of native woodland and undisturbed water setback were established to prevent excess nutrients and sediment from entering the Funshion River. This will also stabilise the riverbank, while increasing the carbon sequestration potential and biodiversity.
Additional farmyard measures being explored include sand filters and constructed wetlands to treat dairy soiled water, and willow filter beds to mitigate water coming from lightly trafficked yards.
The work at Moorepark mirrors national actions on water quality, which have contributed to the 10% reduction in nitrate concentration in rivers in most regions last year, as recently reported by the EPA.
More than 3,600 farmers have applied for support under the five-year Farming for Water EIP, which commenced last year, with €50m ringfenced for payments to up to 15,000 farmers.
Meanwhile, 50 Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme advisers provide free, confidential water quality advice and support to farmers, in addition to Teagasc's Better Farming for Water advisory campaign.
Grant aid for low-emission slurry spreading equipment and manure storage has been increased to 60%, combined with a separate investment threshold of €90,000.
Since 2015, more than €138m has been paid to farmers supporting their investments in manure storage and low-emission slurry spreading.
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