By Ewan Pate, farming editor

THE SCOTTISH Executive consultation on nitrate vulnerable zones (NVZs) officially closed on Thursday.

The tightening of the rules has widely been seen as strangling livestock farms where slurry is produced and severely hampering productivity on arable farms.

By yesterday afternoon 280 responses had been received, some from individual farmers and others from the major lobbying groups.

NFU Scotland has released details of its response and it clearly reflects a strength of feeling.

Rural Development Minister Ross Finnie has been warned unequivocally that farmers will be forced to quit the industry if the Executive presses ahead with the proposed new restrictions in Scotland’s NVZs.

These cover 14% of the countryside but include the most productive areas of eastern Scotland and the important dairying area of Nithsdale.

About 10,000 farm businesses are involved.

NFU Scotland has proposed major changes to the plans and believes its alternative proposals will meet the requirements of the EU Nitrates Directive while still delivering for the environment.

Crucially, however, the changes will avoid the imposition of crippling financial bills on individual farms.

The key issue surrounds the closed periods during which farmers in NVZs are banned from spreading slurry.

The Executive proposes significant extensions to these closed periods, which will force farmers to spend tens of thousands of pounds on extra slurry storage.

Surveys organised by NFUS have concluded that the average pig producer faces a bill of £39,000 and over 40% would quit the industry as a result.

A small survey of farmers in Dumfriesshire uncovered an average bill of £61,000 and the majority would be forced to quit as a result.

Despite plans to extend closed periods through January, the scientific evidence published in the Executive’s own consultation document shows that leaching of nitrogen, the issue at the centre of the debate, reduces dramatically after around November 15 and is largely non-existent in December and January.

Therefore, NFUS is calling for closed periods to begin in October and finish when leaching ceases to be significant.

The union is in discussions with officials and scientific experts to determine a precise date for the end of closed periods.

The union has also stressed, in the absence of evidence to suggest otherwise, that closed periods should be restricted to shallow or sandy soils only and not all soils, as proposed.

NFUS is also urging the Executive to secure a derogation from the tightened organic fertiliser limit of 170kg of nitrogen per hectare. The current limit is 250kg.

After submitting the union’s proposals, NFUS president John Kinnaird said, “Good regulation is proportionate.

“The Executive’s proposals are nowhere close to being proportionate and, if left unchanged, will sound the death knell for some farms.

“For anyone who thinks that is alarmist they should speak to the 200 farmers who attended the meeting in Inverurie earlier this week or look at the responses to our surveys.

“The cost of investing in six months’ storage runs into tens of thousands of pounds, and it is totally unnecessary.

“NFUS has been to Brussels, had meetings with the minister and is still engaged in intense discussions with officials.

“We have proposed a constructive but radical revision of what is currently on the table.

“Our plan will be effective for the environment, will keep Brussels happy and, crucially, will avoid farmers being driven out of the industry.

“This may be the last big decision the minister takes before the election, but the legacy of that decision will live for years.

“There is a real opportunity for the minister to be remembered for resisting the temptation to impose ‘safety-first,’ disproportionate regulation and instead delivering a workable solution based on common sense.”

Mr Kinnaird’s words are unlikely to fall on deaf ears.

Other organisations such as the Scottish Rural Property and Business Association and Scottish Agronomy have also released responses in a similar vein.

It is a powerful groundswell of opinion.