Mr. Bill Callanan:

I will let Mr. Harris deal with the cow numbers. I will start with the first two matters to make sure that everybody has a clear understanding. The first key benefit of low-emission spreading of slurry is ammonia reduction. It has an additional benefit of improving the efficiency utilisation of manure. That contributes to needing less bag fertiliser in reality. One gets greater efficiency from it. It is principally done through ammonia compliance, to which the dairy sector has to contribute too and was the driver of our inclusion of it as a requirement for farmers with a derogation.

Protected urea is a climate change mitigation in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with it. It is not a major game changer with regard to water quality because the number of nitrates lost from the system is based on the amount applied, uptake and various different things, but the protection and volume of nitrogen applied does not change. To be clear, while there is a major change to the emissions factors associated with it, there is not in respect of the water quality associated with it.