SHARING OPTIONS: For farmers that are operating close to the 170kg/ha limit, an option is to export organic manure off farm. The total number of farmers in NI who plan to operate under a nitrates derogation during 2021 is almost unchanged from last year. DAERA received 433 derogation applications before the 31 March 2021 deadline, which compares to the 432 farmers that applied for the 2020 calendar year. However, the total remains lower than other years as 472 applied in 2019 and 480 applications were received back in 2018. A derogation allows the nitrogen loading limit from organic manure on highly stocked farms to increase from 170kg/ha to 250kg/ha.