Broken gutters caused 43% of water non-compliances on farms

Faulty gutters and downpipes accounted for 43% of on-farm non-compliances found during Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) initial inspections in 2025. Teagasc has published the figure as part of its Better Farming for Water campaign, which sets out five practices farmers should adopt before weather deteriorates in the coming weeks.

The number carries a direct financial warning. Every failed inspection risks penalties tied to area-based payments, and the most common cause is one of the cheapest faults on the farm to fix.

Why gutters top the list

Gutters and downpipes should collect rainwater from shed roofs and transfer it directly to an outlet in the ground. When a downpipe empties onto a concrete yard, clean rainwater mixes with silage spillage, clay and dirt, converting a large volume of harmless water into effluent that must be handled and stored.

Teagasc advises farmers to inspect all gutters and downpipes this month. The 43% non-compliance figure from the 2025 GAP inspections makes this the single highest-yielding repair job on the list.

What changes at the silage pit?

Feeding practice matters as much as infrastructure. Farmers should collect spilled silage around the yard and keep a clean pit face throughout the winter. A loader-mounted bucket and brush, or a yard scraper, prevents the build-up of silage and dirt. Settlement tanks must be in place to collect yard runoff before it reaches waterways.

Silage sampling offers a second function beyond feed analysis. It lets farmers check whether effluent is leaking from bales or the pit. The chemistry is unforgiving. Silage effluent has a pH of 3.5 to 5.0, acidic enough to cut through concrete and open unwanted leakage paths.

Wet harvesting compounds the problem. Silage cut before it was fully wilted produces higher effluent volumes, all of which must be collected and stored in a settlement tank.

How dangerous is silage effluent?

The campaign quantifies the risk in stark terms. Silage effluent can be up to 200 times more potent than raw sewage due to its high Biochemical Oxygen Demand. That potency is what causes fish kills in streams and rivers.

Effluent channels around silage pits must therefore stay clean and in working order, with a clear path for effluent to reach the runoff tank.

What are the manure storage rules?

Dung storage should be fully sealed and, ideally, roofed. A roof keeps dung solid and dry and cuts runoff volumes. Stocking rates must not exceed the farmyard manure storage available, in line with the rules for each farm's manure application zone.

Prohibited application periods vary by zone, and Teagasc has published a table setting them out. One rule is absolute: storing dung in a field during the closed period is prohibited.

What about late-harvested crops?

Late-harvested crops are defined as vegetable crops harvested after September 15, including beet, maize and main crop potatoes. Because these crops are often lifted late into the year, they carry a greater risk to water quality than grassland, where most animals are already housed.

Wet late-season soils add a second hazard. Machinery tracks and bare soil become sediment sources that run directly into waterways.

Under the EU's Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters, every late-harvested crop needs a 6m uncultivated, vegetation-filled buffer zone in fields sloping towards a waterway. Where no slope runs towards a watercourse, a 3m buffer is acceptable.

What should farmers do now?

The sequence is straightforward. Inspect and repair gutters this month, clean the silage pit face, sample silage, seal and roof dung storage, and measure buffer zones against the slope of every field holding beet, maize or potatoes. Farmers should check their application zone's closed periods before any winter spreading, and expect Teagasc inspectors to look hardest at the fault behind nearly half of last year's failures.