The Protection of Water Against Agricultural Nitrate Pollution Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003

Regulation 5

SCHEDULE 4 CODE OF GOOD AGRICULTURAL PRACTICE

1.  A code of good agricultural practice established pursuant to regulation 5 shall contain provisions covering the following items, in so far as they are relevant and taking account of the objective of reducing pollution by nitrates and of conditions in different regions:

(1) Periods when the land application of fertilizer is inappropriate;

(2) the land application of fertilizer to steeply sloping ground;

(3) the land application of fertilizer to water-saturated, flooded, frozen or snow-covered ground;

(4) the conditions for land application of fertilizer near water courses;

(5) the capacity and construction of storage vessels for livestock manures, including measures to prevent water pollution by run-off and seepage into the groundwater and surface water of liquids containing livestock manures and effluents from stored plant materials such as silage;

(6) procedures for the land application, including rate and uniformity of spreading, of both chemical fertilizer and livestock manure, that will maintain nutrient losses to water at an acceptable level.

2.  A code of good agricultural practice established pursuant to regulation 5 may also include provisions covering the following items:

(1) Land use management, including the use of crop rotation systems and the proportion of the land area devoted to permanent crops relative to annual tillage crops;

(2) the maintenance of a minimum quantity of vegetation cover during (rainy) periods that will take up the nitrogen from the soil that could otherwise cause nitrate pollution of water;

(3) the establishment of fertilizer plans on a farm-by-farm basis and the keeping of records on fertilizer use;

(4) the prevention of water pollution from run-off and the downward water movement beyond the reach of crop roots in irrigation systems.