New proposals from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs are likely to push many farmers out of business.

The new proposals from Defra on the storage of silage, slurry and agricultural fuel oil will have major implications for the whole livestock industry and are likely to push many farmers out of business, said farming agency firm Strutt & Parker.

The firm's farming consultants have expressed alarm after Defra launched a consultation on the implementation of the Nitrates Directive in England 2013 to 2016.

Defra is looking at three areas: options for revised action programme measures to control nitrogen pollution from agricultural sources from 2013 onwards; whether the action plan should apply to Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs) or apply to the whole of England; and the rationalisation of the Water Resource (Control of Pollution) (Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil) Regulations 2010.

Paul Dennison, farm business consultant in Strutt & Parker's Northallerton office, said: "All three of these will have major implications for the whole livestock industry. Of principal concern is the proposed expansion of NVZs to cover the whole of England, the increasing level of available plant nitrogen from slurry and an extension of the closed periods in which farmers can spread slurry.

"The most frightening thing for any slurry-based livestock system is the proposed end to exemptions in relation to storage regulations. This would cost the livestock industry millions of pounds and push many producers out of business because of the large investment required for compliance."

He said a new slurry store for a 150-cow dairy herd could potentially cost £120,000 and silage clamps for the same herd of cows would cost around £140,000.

Dennison said: "These regulations set out construction standards and a minimum volume of storage for slurry. At present, any slurry store built before 1st March 1991 is exempt from these regulations. Removing this exemption would require all non-compliant stores to be brought up to specification by 22nd December 2015. It is not just applicable to slurry stores but also relates to silage clamps and fuel storage.

"Many farms have a slurry store, silage clamp and/or fuel tanks pre-dating 1991, which will have been subject to regular maintenance and are still in good working order. However, it is more than likely that very few of these would comply with the standards contained in the regulations and, if the proposals are implemented, farmers are going to be forced to make large and unexpected cash outlays to update their facilities."

He added: "It must also be noted that the storage proposals being considered do not just apply to those in NVZs but to the whole of England. Everyone needs to pay attention to the results of this consultation."

For more information or advice please contact Strutt & Parker's Northallerton office on 01609 780306.