To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to detail any engagement his Department has had with farmers regarding the practical challenges of meeting slurry spreading deadlines, during recent wet conditions.

My Department has had no representations from, or engagement with, farming representatives or farmers about practical challenges related to slurry spreading regulations during recent wet conditions.

In September, the average recorded rainfall in Northern Ireland was 144mm, which is higher than average, while the first half of October was generally dry. The summer months prior to this were generally favourable for slurry spreading, allowing most applications to be completed before the autumn and the subsequent closed period.

While the closed period is approximately 16 weeks duration, farms are required to have a minimum slurry storage capacity of 22 weeks. This is to ensure farms have sufficient storage capacity to allow for when weather and soil conditions are unsuitable for slurry spreading either side of the closed period.