The government has made changes to rules governing Nitrate Vulnerable Zones in the UK. The changes are the result of a four-yearly review of NVZ rules with the aim of reducing pollution in line with EU guidelines.

The government said that, as water quality in the UK has improved over the past four years, changes will only be made in areas where they are deemed absolutely necessary. The new changes announced today will come into force from 1^st January 2012.

However, The NFU has called the changes “disappointing and unnecessary” and suggested they will make it difficult to utilise slurry effectively. The complaints follow Jim paice’s announcement in July that Defra had abandoned plans to designate the entire UK an NVZ, which would carry special regulations and which has been carried out in Denmark. The announcement was made in an effort to placate dairy farmers who were preparing action to reverse damaging price cuts.

Although much of the NVZ Action Programme remains unchanged, Defra has introduced a two week extension of the closed period for spreading slurry and poultry manure. Defra has also decided to increase the amount of composted permitted per hectare of land.

The NFU has contested this and suggested that Defra has acted too soon in introducing new measures, with union representatives suggesting officials are “pre-empting results of the 2008 Action Programme, which has not had long enough to contribute to further reductions in nitrate levels.”

Water pollution

The government agency claims to have abandoned its plans to designate all of England a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone after judging that the cost of such an action would be three times greater than the benefits, although farming organizations have welcomed this, Defra has acknowledged that its figures do not factor in the benefits of reducing pollution caused by sediment and phosphates.

NFU Deputy President Meurig Raymond commented on the changes, “Defra's consultation offered the choice between longer closed periods and a reduced maximum application in the weeks after the closed period ends. From a practical perspective shorter closed periods and better practice when spreading is a far easier pill to swallow. But it is galling to see that Irish closed periods and slurry storage are already less demanding than those in England, despite the wetter climate of Ireland.”

He continued, “A further disappointment is Defra's decision not to act on the NFU's proposal to amend the grassland derogation so that it can help dairy farmers with between 70 and 80 per cent of their farm in grass, as comparerd to the present situation where only farms with 80 per cent or more grass receive this help. At a time when maintaining their businesses is so challenging, dairy farmers could have been helped by greater flexibility over derogations.”

The government response to its consultation on the NVZ action programme is available here

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