IPPC - Have your say?

The NFU is urging pig and poultry farmers to respond to a consultation on proposals to amend the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive to highlight the potential impact of changes on their businesses.

The current Directive applies to pig and poultry installations with more than 40,000 places for poultry, more than 2,000 places for finishing pigs or more than 750 sows.

However, the re-named Directive on Industrial Emissions, proposes a number of significant changes. The NFU's key concerns include proposals to lower the thresholds for laying hens, ducks and turkeys; a new concept of equivalent nitrogen excretion rates which could affect mixed species farms; the addition of new prescriptions for manure spreading; and to reduce flexibility.

The deadline for responses to Defra is 25 July 2008. To find out more and to access suggested points to include within any response,