26 February 2023
Meet Róisín McManus – a Teagasc Walsh Scholar tackling water quality issues through targeted manure storage advice
Róisín McManus is a Teagasc Walsh Scholar, based in Teagasc Nenagh, who’s identifying ways to achieve improvements in water quality through targeted organic manure storage advice.
As part of her research, being completed in conjunction with Teagasc’s Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP) and University College Dublin, Róisín has utilised focus groups – consisting of dairy advisors in the Teagasc region, ASSAP advisors and ASSAP co-op advisors – and organic manure storage measurements, followed by an in-person survey to generate her research findings. Below, she tells us more on the work she has completed to date.
Can you give us a brief outline of your research work and what you hope it will achieve?
As a researcher, my overall aim was to determine knowledge transfer methods to improve slurry storage on Irish farms. The objectives of such methods were for them to be useful to farmers and advisors. They also had to be practical, positive and user friendly, as well as to align with Government legislation.
Engaging with advisors and farmers through different forms of data collection allowed me to determine suitable effective methods of knowledge transfer that could be used to improve slurry storage.
For the quantitative data collection, the study population was 40 dairy farmers in the Teagasc Tipperary Region. The approach taken with this was random selection. This ensured that a purposive sampling approach was not taken, and participants were not selected in a strategic way. The objective of carrying out such assessments was to identify the nature and extent of organic manure storage on dairy farms relative to legislative requirements.
How have you put the results of this research into action?
Results from both the surveys and focus groups influenced my collaboration with Arrabawn Co-op to develop a calendar, including key messages in each month relevant to organic manure storage and application for the protection of water quality. An extensive literature review of my own has informed me that the core merit of calendars is that they are persistent reminders of the intended message.
Calendars can be used universally, are annual in nature so remain in the visual range of the target audience for a long period of time, they are looked at on a regular basis and custom calendars can be commissioned to relay useful information. The key messages are strategic, relevant, uncomplicated, memorable, and tailored to the audience. A recommendation I will be making in my thesis will be for other dairy co-ops in Ireland to possibly team up with ASSAP in the development of such a calendar.
You held a very successful event in Tipperary in January, can you outline what the event entailed and why it occurred?
The second knowledge transfer approach I decided to develop was a template for farmyard events. As organiser I decided to name the event ‘Future Proofing Farmyards’. The objectives of the event were to highlight common problems found from farmyard assessments, the implications of insufficient organic manure storage, to prepare farmers for future slurry and soiled water storage regulations, and the cost involved with the expansion of storage.
North Tipperary dairy farmer Graham Harding, a new entrant to dairy farming since the abolition of EU quotas, kindly hosted the event which was held on the 13th of January. Despite the cold winter’s day, the event was deemed a success after it attracted 80 farmers from various locations. Tackling the issue of water quality is an on-going challenge faced by the agricultural industry today, leaving farmers with having to change their attitudes and way of farming to help sustain Ireland’s environment. Reducing the amount of nitrogen spread on the land and keeping a buffer zone of 5m when spreading slurry are great practices to making a positive impact, however an assessment of the farmyard and measurements of the available organic manure storage on farm should be addressed prior to further actions.
The first speaker of the day was dairy expansion specialist, Patrick Gowing. Patrick emphasised the need for farmers to invest in soiled water and slurry storage beyond the current and planned requirements listed by the Department of Agriculture. All holdings producing soiled water must have a minimum of 31 days storage from 1st December 2024 with the exception of winter milk producers, where storage must be in place by 1st December 2025. If farmers do not have separate storage for soiled water, it will have to be stored with slurry adding to the amount of slurry that has to be held during the closed period. Patrick recommended that farmers should consider investing in a separate tank for soiled water, or they could potentially run into major issues during the winter period.
Gillian Delehanty, an agricultural scientist with Tipperary County Council was on hand to share the common on farm issues that they deal with regarding water quality. Firstly, Gillian communicated with farmers the numerous complaints they receive in relation to farmers spreading outside the closed period and reiterated the importance of following the current and future rules for the spreading of organic manure. Gillian highlighted the need to make yourself aware of the condition of your silage pit slab and effluent channels, and to take action if required. The slabs and walls need to be structurally sound with no cracks or defects, to ensure ensiling of the silage and so the effluent is collected and stored safely. Silage effluent is highly polluting and can cause fish kills in watercourses/rivers and contaminate wells if not collected, stored and land spread properly.
Finally, ASSAP advisor Fiona Doolan set the scene for farmers regarding the strong link between making improvements in water quality and the conditions of Nitrates Derogation going forward. Fiona emphasised heavily on the value slurry holds with price of imported chemical fertiliser. Today 1,000 gallons of slurry is worth up to €55, therefore the more you get out of your slurry, the less risk there is of it ending up in a stream or river. The buffer zone applicable to the spreading of chemical fertiliser increased from 2m to 3m in the latter end of 2022. Fiona explained the theory around the buffer zones for both organic and chemical fertilisers and the important role they have in addressing water quality issues. The buffer zone for slurry is 5m, with an increase to 10m for a period of two weeks preceding and two weeks following the periods when application of fertilisers to land is prohibited, as well as a 25m buffer zone for both domestic and farm water source wells. A survey distributed at the end was used to test the effectiveness and for farmers to leave comments and feedback for advisors hoping to hold a similar event in the future.