PIG farmers in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs) have been reminded new slurry storage requirements take effect from January 1 next year.

They must have at least six months storage capacity in place by then and BPEX has urged them to make sure they meet the deadline.

It warned: “Where breaches are made due to lack of storage after January 1, 2012, then the Environment Agency may apply for civil or criminal sanctions.”

The Environment Agency can visit farms before then to check they are taking active steps towards putting storage in place and that they have already completed satisfactory slurry storage calculations.

Failure to complete the calculations could amount to a breach in the requirements of cross compliance and may lead to additional visits.