Land declared a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone

[JoceAndChris]

This applies to land registered with DEFRA so may be of little interest to garden-owners. You might find it interesting, though, if you're surrounded by fields.

Our field is DEFRA registered as we've had foster-sheep on it and will get our own pet lambikins next Spring. DEFRA have just written to say our field falls within a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone. (NVZ) The letter is garbled and verbose, but from what I can make out this is all about too much fertiliser polluting the waters of the UK, and farmers being required to mend their ways.

We will have to comply with the Action Programme that starts on Jan 1st 2013. But the letter doesn't say what the action programme is. More information here:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/food-farm/land-manage/nitrates-watercourses/nitrates/

In an NVZ, what must I do?
If your farm is in an NVZ, the Regulations say you must

Consider where on your farm factors such as the lie of the land and the type of soil mean that applying fertilizers carries high risk
Carefully plan when, where and how much nitrate you intend to apply to your crops in fertilizers, and record what you actually apply
Ensure that you do not apply more nitrate than each crop needs, taking into account what is already available in the soil
Avoid spreading fertilizers at certain times of the year (broadly during autumn and early winter, when the risk of causing nitrate pollution is high, and at any time when the ground is saturated, frozen or covered in snow)
Ensure you have six months’ worth of storage capacity for pig slurry and poultry manure, and five months’ worth for other slurries.



I don't think any of this is going to affect my sheepies but I'll be very upset if I buy them to be told in future they're too nitrogen-producing.

Any other land-owners had this letter?

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Nope. But basically this letter says not to over fertilise and not to do it when the chance of run off into water courses is higher... Eg in the snow. I can't imagine anyone doing this!

Unless you're spreading fertiliser on the back of a tractor Joce, then it won't affect you.

And for a few ornamental sheepikins, you won't need to fertilise your grassland anyway.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Thanks Robin! That's very illuminating.

What do you do with all the poultry manure, pig poo etc?

 

[biffvernon]

We got that letter too. Our land hasn't had any nitrogen added for at least the 25 years I've been here.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Oh, well, Lincolnshire is bright blue on the NVZ designation map- but then so is most of England, the north and and far west (and London!) seeming freer of it. Our field hasn't had any tractor fertiliser either - but does benefit from our soakaway.

With any luck the new legislation is going to improve the farmers' methods, at times the stench in Lincs is just appalling - and no - it isn't when our shower's not working!

 

[Flyfisher]

What do you do with all the poultry manure, pig poo etc?

This is only an issue for intensive farming where such stuff is accumulated and has to be physically managed somehow. Free range livestock naturally disperse their, er, fertiliser around their field and I've never heard of farmers doing anything to collect and manage it.

Nitrogen run-off is all to do with the large amounts of fertiliser added to intensively farmed fields, not the natural consequence of grazing animals.

FW is correct - you'd need some serious machinery to be able to spread the amounts of fertiliser required for nitrogen run-off to become a problem.

File the letter in the shredder, keep calm and carry on. :wink:

 

[JoceAndChris]

:lol: Wise words.

Free range livestock naturally disperse their, er, fertiliser around their field and I've never heard of farmers doing anything to collect and manage it.

But they must store it somewhere, hence:

"Ensure you have six months’ worth of storage capacity for pig slurry and poultry manure, and five months’ worth for other slurries."

I spend my life poo-picking, and will have to for the sheep as well, or the land will become poached and the chances of intestinal parasites much higher. What to do with the poo is a real problem - you often see huge dung/soiled bedding hills in Lincs, especially on horsey premises, but I have so far avoided that. I wonder if this legislation is going to include "you can't have a dung-hill"?

And before anyone says compost I could photograph this summers' waste which I've selectively composted, and which has now got to the size of a small elephant. (chicken poo mixed with weeds and trimmings)

When it comes to planting I never think my compost good enough so I go and buy specialist stuff. :roll:

 

[FamilyWiggs]

You don't need storage capacity for manure for extensively reared livestock. They just deposit straight into the fields.

If you house your animals at night or overwinter, then you need to store and susequently get rid of the manure.. Round here, the cattle farmers store it and then spread it as slurry on the fields in the spring/early summer. I don't think this is an issue in the quantities they do it.

We don't pick up afte rthe poutry, but again they are extensively reared. I think yours are probably a bit denser stocked Joce than my few. The turkeys in the shed are deep littered on straw in the last 8 weeks or so of their fattening, and this is a small enough volume to go on the compost heap after Christmas.

Fertilising your land with the manure from your livestock has been the bedrock of the carbon cycle for smallholders for centuries. Keep doing it, otherwise your land gets slowly exhausted and less productive.

The nitrate letter applies ot the big boys spreading nitorgenous fertliser pellets on an industrial scale. You don't need to be Einstein to work out that this kind of practice will have an environmental impact after a while. :roll:

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Joce - you don't need to poo pick after sheep. Please don't start that habit! Life is way too short... besides you'll be too busy knitting the lambs' booties. :wink:

Provided you have a low enough stocking density and move them around regularly enough, then land won't be poached and you actually need the poo to return the carbon to the ground. Horsey people pick poo, because horses won't eat grass where the poo has been - even the next season. Horsey people also seem more prone to overstock from what I can see and kancker their land.

We have very low stocking densities, move the sheepikins or mooikins between fields and don't bother to worm. We don't have a problem with worms, but are v careful before bringing in new stock. We didn't worm the pigs either, although they'd had a dose before we got the piglets. I prefer not to worm or use medicines if I can avoid them. This year I've not even sprayed the sheep, the fly season seems to have been very short due to the wet weather. I don't even give the poultry anything except a coccidostat which comes in the food.

I'm probably being cavalier and not caring for my livestock... but all I can say is they seem healthy and tasty.

 

[vicky whitworth]

Hello,
Isn't one of the issues about pollutants getting into the rivers?
When we had flooding issues here a few years ago the Environment Agency were jumping up and down all over the place because the flooding was caused by excessive run-off caused by farmers planting corn (which compacts the soil and when harvested leaves the field stripped bare), the run-off was contaminated by nitrates which got into the Axe and its tributaries which are salmon and trout spawning rivers.
The Council can prosecute framers who now do this.
Vicky

 

[Flyfisher]

Yes, nitrate run-off into rivers has been a known problem for many years (can promote algal blooms that deplete the dissolved oxygen and kill the fish among other things), but it's all to do with intensive farming that requires significant fertilisers added to the soil to keep it productive. As FW rightly say, a more organic approach doesn't incur this problem.

Joce, do you run your sheep in just one large field? If so, it might be worth considering dividing it into sections so that you can rotate the grazing. My understanding is that this will naturally reduce/eliminate any worm problems as long as you leave it long enough before re-grazing each paddock. It certainly seemed to work when my parent kept sheep a long time ago.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Hi Vicky - that's interesting, and quite right it should be seen as an offence given the awful consequences.

Robin - thanks so much for your useful posts, your animals always seem to have such a lovely free life (until you gobble them up :wink: ) Seriously though, I've always admired smallholders who can rear their own meat very much indeed, I wish I could do it but I can't despite several years of trying to persuade myself it's a good plan for our bit of land. If you eat them, you avoid all sorts of problems. My stocking density may well be higher than yours - I've got around 15 birds in 2 big sheds (so 30) - they could roam over 4 acres if they wanted but they choose to stick as close to me as they can get so turn the paths around the house into a proper mess. I had the same problem with the sheep who had a nice big field but just sat right in front of the house watching for me to come out with sheep nuts.

I will take the point about poo picking though, and attempt to force them to move about with electric fencing.

I worm the poultry now and then but am not convinced they really need it.

FF -just seen your post -thanks. As mentioned above I think stricter dividing up of the field will be called for. I'm thinking of just 5 sheepies for 3 acres - Chris wants 8 though. He isn't the one who'll have to do the dagging!

 

[FamilyWiggs]

I think 5 sheepies might struggle to keep on top of 3 acres in the height of summer.

I'd be inclinced to get 8, and split your field in 2. You can then rotate between the two of them. Also put a fence in towards the corner by the gate (you have put the gate in the corner, haven't you? :roll: ) so you can drive the sheep along the fencline and into a sort of funnel. Makes it much easier to pen them when moving/working on them.

Are you breeding from you 5 or 8 sheep? If so, you'll want enough grass for the lambs too, and also somewhere to keep your ram if you have one so he isn't frolicking with them at inopportune times. I'd be inclined to see if you can borrow a ram, or run your ewes with a local farmer's rams, rathe rthan have your own for just a handful.

Oh - and stop feeding them nuts every five minutes. It's not good for them or you! Get them used to a bucket so they are easier to handle, and then let them eat sweet grass instead.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Have you ever tried grass? Poor things, having to eat that.

A ram, hmmm. They're wonderful creatures but I think I might be a bit scared of one. A lovely idea to breed though, that would be just fantastic so a good idea to see if I can hire one.

Yes the gate's sort of in a corner - the sheep farmers showed me how to use hurdles but I thought that might be unnecessary as surely you can sneak up at night and trim hooves etc - as I do with the chickens?

8, then, Chris will be pleased!

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Yes the gate's sort of in a corner - the sheep farmers showed me how to use hurdles but I thought that might be unnecessary as surely you can sneak up at night and trim hooves etc - as I do with the chickens?

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[worms]

I would agree with most of the advice above but not quite with:

File the letter in the shredder, keep calm and carry on. :wink:

Put the letter in a file marked NVZ, add another sheet of paper with two columns, one being "Date" and the other "N applied". All being well you will never open the file again but if the lady from DEFRA comes round, you have the records that she is looking for.

BUT... You may, at some point down the line, find that your light grazing, no fertiliser, sheep-only regime results in the sward deteriorating to the point that you either want to rent the field for a season to someone who will plant something or you want to reseed it. At that point you will want to apply some N fertiliser and you can note it in your file.

 

[worms]

...trim hooves etc - as I do with the chickens?

Chickens have hooves?

 

[JoceAndChris]

Not sure, my chickens' tootsies are sensibly wrapped up in Cath Kidston booties. :wink:

Thanks for your advice worms, that all sounds very sensible indeed. A good point to keep paperwork so in the remote chance I'm ever asked I can produce the right information.

Thanks for all the advice in the thread. PPUK is great!

 

[Flyfisher]

I would agree with most of the advice above but not quite with:

File the letter in the shredder, keep calm and carry on. :wink:

Put the letter in a file marked NVZ, add another sheet of paper with two columns, one being "Date" and the other "N applied". All being well you will never open the file again but if the lady from DEFRA comes round, you have the records that she is looking for.

Hmm. I understand the sentiment but have things got so bad that we now have to keep records of all the things we haven't done in order to 'prove' we're complying with all this red tape?

Should we also maintain a file that records all the work we haven't done to our listed houses?

 

[worms]

There is a grassland farm derogation... but you probably need to produce records to apply for that!