NFU lobbying maintains exemption for pig and poultry producers

Lobbying by the NFU has seen the Government abandon plans to remove the existing waste exemption for the landspreading of poultry and pig carcass ash. Many producers currently benefit from this position which allows small quantities of incinerator ash to be diluted with manure and slurry before spreading to farmland. Yet as part of the joint Defra, Welsh Assembly Government and Environment Agency review of waste management exemptions, it was proposed that farmers could only spread waste ash to land under a complicated environmental permit where costs could have run into the region of £1,000. However the NFU’s successful joint lobbying with BPEX has meant that both the pig and poultry industry will be able to continue this important activity with a free of charge exemption.