The country's largest farming organisation has committed itself to protection of water through a new scheme designed to ensure efficient use of organic and chemical fertilisers.
The IFA National Management Code, introduced at the National Ploughing Championships, encourages farmers to test soils to establish their nutrient content available for crop growth. In turn, farmers calculate nutrient need in terms of artificial fertiliser and/or animal manure/slurry requirements.
"Our high-quality environment is a prized national resource," the IFA president, Mr John Donnelly, said. "It is especially important to us as farmers as we promote quality Irish food from a clean, pollution-free countryside. Water is an integral feature of this environment."
Mr Donnelly echoed concern about an increase in slight and moderate pollution over the past 25 years because of enrichment of water from excessively-used nutrients such as phosphates and nitrates. The sources of such nutrients went beyond agriculture and included sewage and industrial waste, he said.
The code emphasises that, incorrectly managed, phosphates and nitrates not only threaten the environment but also "represent a serious economic loss to farmers".
Nutrient management planning has been advocated by the Department of the Environment, angling bodies and fisheries boards as the most effective means of water protection, as it balances nutrient sources with crop needs. It entails more frequent soil-testing, but is not costly.
"It integrates information specific to a farm on soil fertility and cropping; animal manure production and quality management practices, risks to the environment and record-keeping," Mr Donnelly said.
He paid tribute to the initiative of the farm advisory body, Teagasc, on phosphate and its decision to reduce soil test costs up to the end of 1997.
Teagasc's director, Dr Liam Downey, announced that the body had asked fertiliser manufacturers to produce more environmentally-friendly phosphate-based products.
Senior technical staff in Teagasc had been in contact with the manufacturers, while a meeting with the Irish Fertiliser Manufacturers' Association would take place shortly as part of Teagasc's campaign on water quality, aimed at reducing phosphate applications by farmers.
Fertiliser compounds on the market are not suited to today's phosphate needs, he said. Developing products with lower phosphate levels would make a major contribution to the campaign. From the response to date, he was optimistic that more environmentally-friendly products would be introduced soon.
The Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Dr Woods, welcomed the code. He was "greatly encouraged by the responsible approach of the farming organisations to his concerns regarding the pollution of rivers and lakes", he said.
