Maintaining good or high ecological status is essential for sustaining healthy aquatic ecosystems. Ireland’s new Better Farming for Water campaign aims to improve water bodies to reach these optimal conditions. Keep reading to learn more about the task at hand and the solutions the campaign provides!
Need to Improve Ireland’s Water Quality
Just over half of Irish surface water bodies achieve at least good status. The EU’s Water Framework Directive mandates that EU Member States attain at least good status in all surface water and groundwater bodies by 2027. The primary challenge facing our water is the excessive presence of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N).
The environmental quality standard for good status for P is less than 0.035 mg/l. In 2022, 25% of Irish rivers had P concentrations greater than this threshold. For NO3, the EPA guideline is less than 8 mg/l for good ecological status, yet in 2022, 44% of Irish rivers exceeded this concentration.
These elevated levels of N and P negatively impact the ecological health of Irish water bodies. Accumulation of these elements leads to increased eutrophication in these waters. Eutrophication occurs when nutrient enrichment increases the amount of plant and algae growth. This increased growth depletes oxygen in the water.
Algal Bloom Caused by Eutrophication
What is the Better Farming for Water Project?
The Better Farming for Water Project is a 7-year (2024-2030) national campaign launched by Teagasc to improve water quality in Ireland. The initiative seeks to elevate all water bodies where agriculture is a significant pressure to good or high ecological status. The goal is to aid farmers in reducing the environmental impact of their farms. This will be achieved by improving:
Nutrient Management
Farmyard Management
Land Management
These improvements will be facilitated by adopting 8 Actions for Change.
Better Farming for Water: 8 Actions for Change
1) Reduce purchased nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) surplus per hectare.
2) Ensure soil fertility is optimal for lime, phosphorus, and potassium.
⇒ Agricultural soil testing can examine how fertile your soil is.
3) Ensure application of fertiliser and organic manure at appropriate times and conditions.
⇒ Fertiliser testing can inform best practices.
4) Have sufficient slurry and soiled water storage capacity.
5) Manage and minimise nutrient loss from farmyards and roadways.
⇒ Water monitoring can identify areas where nutrients are being lost to water bodies.
6) Fence off watercourses to prevent bovine access.
7) Promote targeted mitigation actions. These actions may include using riparian margins, buffer strips, and sediment traps to mitigate nutrient and sediment loss to water.
8) Maintain over-winter green cover to reduce nutrient leaching from tillage soils.
Conclusion for Better Farming for Water
The Better Farming for Water campaign aspires to reduce nutrient, sediment, pesticide, and pathogen loss to water bodies. By doing so, Ireland can increase the proportion of water bodies with high or good ecological status. Southern Scientific is here to provide support every step of the way. Our accredited labs offer expert soil, fertiliser, and water testing to help tackle the challenges we face. To see how we can help your farm achieve the 8 Actions for Change:
Contact Our Team of Experts Today!
