WEST Cork IFA Executive hosted a meeting in Dunmanway recently on the regulation of GAEC2 (Good Environmental and Agricultural Condition 2) and the Nature Restoration Law (rewetting of peat soils).
The main purpose of these laws is to reduce farmer’s carbon footprint as wet peatland stores carbon, enhances biodiversity and improves water quality and to make people more aware of this.
There are 1.5 million hectares of deep peat land in the country and 28% (420,000 hectares) of this is deemed to be intensively farmed, with some of this in the more western areas of West Cork.
As was discussed, rewetting would involve raising the water table to within 300mm of the surface and would not be compulsory.
Farmers will be allowed to farm peat soils as normal, provided they observe good farming practices by appropriate nutrient management, only ploughing no deeper than 300mm and ploughing one year in four for reseeding, and only maintaining any existing drained peat soils.
It was advised that photographs would be taken to prove there were existing drains before doing any drainage work.
Planning permission is required before any clearance of scrub and drainage work can be completed on any non-farmed land.
If a parcel of land on the area aid maps has more than 50% peat soil it is deemed as peat soil or if a parcel has mixed mineral and peat soil a farmer can divide that particular parcel.
