Livestock Units Calculator
Under the Nutrients Action Programme 2019-2022 Regulations, from 1 February 2022, farms with 200 or more cattle livestock units (LU) and/or a total annual livestock manure nitrogen production of 20,000kg or more from pigs, must use Low Emission Slurry Spreading Equipment (LESSE) for spreading all slurry produced by all enterprises on the holding.
For mixed enterprise farms with cattle and pig enterprises (or any other livestock enterprise) the calculations for livestock units and nitrogen produced should be carried out independently; and if either the total livestock units from cattle is over 200 LU, or the nitrogen produced by pigs is 20,000kg N/year or more, then LESSE must be used to spread all slurry produced by all enterprises on the holding.
- Only cattle should be included when calculating livestock units (LU)
- Only pigs should be included when calculating nitrogen produced
Total livestock units should be estimated for the incoming year using the previous years stock numbers, available on APHIS online records (Nitrates Loading Average).
To calculate nitrogen produced from pig enterprises, use the Nitrogen Loading Calculator available at: www.daera-ni.gov.uk/onlineservices