ReNure Proposal Offers Irish Dairy Farmers Relief from Nitrogen Limits
Irish dairy farmers are currently challenged by the Nitrates Directive, which restricts the amount of organic nitrogen (N) that can be applied to land fr om livestock manure, with a standard lim it of 170kg of organic N per hectare annually. Some farmers benefit fr om a derogation that allows higher limits, but recent changes in nitrogen excretion rates per cow—80kg, 92kg, or 106kg N per year—are increasing pressure on compliance.
The ReNure proposal from the European Commission suggests reclassifying digestate from anaerobic digestion (AD) plants as chemical fertiliser if it meets specific processing standards. This change could allow farmers to use up to an additional 80kg N/ha of processed digestate without counting towards the organic N lim it, thus reducing reliance on chemical fertilisers.
Teagasc, Ireland's agriculture and food development authority, stresses that not all digestate will qualify as ReNure. The digestate must undergo additional treatments like ammonia stripping, membrane filtration, or chemical precipitation to be considered. These processes improve nitrogen availability to plants, making the digestate functionally similar to chemical fertilisers.
The European Commission's Nitrates Committee endorsed the ReNure proposal on September 19, and it is now pending approval by the European Parliament and Council. If approved, Ireland will need to implement the new rules and support the necessary infrastructure.
Teagasc acknowledges that capital costs for qualifying ReNure products will likely demand an independent certification process and may require large-scale AD plants to achieve economic viability. Industry estimates suggest that BioBased ReNure costs could be lower than current fertiliser processing expenses, even before considering carbon taxes.
Moreover, the proposal could help farmers manage nutrients more efficiently, reducing costs and improving carbon intensity. However, phosphorus management remains a challenge, and compliance with related regulations will be essential.
