Mayo councillor calls for extended slurry spreading deadline

Mayo councillor Paul Lawless has called for the slurry spreading deadline to be extended this year.

The Aontú councillor has said farmers and agricultural contractors are under ‘immense pressure’ to meet the current October 1 deadline following ‘an unusually wet summer’ that has left fields ‘waterlogged and unworkable’. 

The councillor, who was selected represent Aontú in Mayo for the next general election, is calling for the deadline to be extended well into October to provide farmers with ‘much-needed relief’.

In a letter to the Minister for Agriculture, Charlie McConalogue, Cllr Lawless stressed the urgency of the situation.

“Farmers and agricultural contractors are struggling with the dreadful weather conditions we’ve faced this summer. The fields were waterlogged for weeks, and only recently have we seen any improvement,” he wrote.

He continued, “Contractors have been contacting me non-stop, with many working up to 20 hours a day to meet the October 1 deadline. They’re trying to compress two months’ worth of work into just two weeks, which is simply unachievable under these circumstances.”

Slurry spreading usually takes place during the spring and summer, but this year’s persistent rainfall has left many farmers unable to do so.

“With more rain than sunshine this summer, the agricultural sector has endured a disastrous season. Extending the October 1 slurry spreading deadline is vital to give farmers the chance to empty their tanks before winter sets in,” Cllr Lawless concluded.