The State agriculture advisory board, Teagasc, has appealed to silage makers to take precautions in managing and storing silage effluent. There were 18 agricultural related fish kills last year, most caused by silage effluent entering the water system.
Mr Sean Regan, an environmental adviser with Teagasc, said there was no room for complacency when dealing with silage. "Silage effluent has a polluting strength of more than 200 times that of untreated sewage. One litre of undiluted silage effluent can pollute more than 13,000 litres of river water to a critical level for fish life."
Mr Regan urged farmers to regularly inspect drains and watercourses downstream of their farmyard for silage spills once silage making began.
