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Can I spread slurry this week?

Pop in your postcode for the forecast and tell us a bit about the job — what you're spreading, how much, and what's already gone on. We'll give our best read for what you've told us. It's your land and your call; this is here for when you want a second opinion.

1. Your weather

We grab the local forecast to flag wet or frosty ground. A guide — you still judge the actual field.

To fetch the forecast we send your postcode to free weather services (postcodes.io and Open-Meteo). We don't store it, and it's only used to look up the weather — not to locate you. Rather not? Pop in a nearby postcode; it's a forecast, not a tracker.

2. The field & crop

Sets the legal closed period and the crop's appetite.

3. The slurry & the spreader

Type changes the nitrogen completely — pig and digestate are much stronger than cattle.

4. What's already happened

This is the bit that catches over-application and timing clashes.

What the answer is based on

Closed periods: GOV.UK (England NVZ), SEPA / gov.scot (Scotland — under review), The Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations 2021 reg 18 (Wales dates confirmed August 2026), the Nutrients Action Programme Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2019 reg 7 (NI dates confirmed August 2026). Conditions: Farming Rules for Water — no spreading on waterlogged, flooded or snow-covered soil, or where soil has been frozen for more than 12 hours in the past 24; take the weather forecast and conditions into account before applying; 10m off inland freshwaters and coastal waters (6m with precision equipment), 50m off a spring, well or borehole. The 48-hour rain check this tool applies is a risk screen and good practice, not a fixed English legal rule. Limits: single application 30 m³/ha in England from the end of the closed period to the end of February (reduced from 50 m³/ha; this tool applies 30 throughout as the cautious figure), at least 3 weeks between applications, field limit 250 kg N/ha/year from organic manures, farm limit 170 kg N/ha/year from livestock manure. Nutrient content (indicative averages, kg per m³): cattle N 2.6 / P₂O₅ 1.2 / K₂O 3.2; pig N 3.6 / P₂O₅ 1.8 / K₂O 2.2; digestate N 4.8 / P₂O₅ 0.8 / K₂O 2.5. Cattle is on RB209-type figures; pig and digestate are indicative estimates with no lab analysis. Crop needs and the grass uptake rate are indicative averages for context, not a nutrient plan. Withholding: rules of thumb ~3 weeks before grazing, ~6 weeks before silage. Forecast: Open-Meteo. Wales and Northern Ireland closed periods were verified against the regulations in August 2026; Scotland is still being checked. A future v3 will use your own manure-analysis and soil-sample figures instead of averages.

A best estimate, not a green light. It works only from what you type, can't see your field, soil indices or full nutrient plan, and the rules are changing. Always check the official rules for your nation, walk the ground, and use a nutrient management plan or a FACTS-qualified adviser for the actual rate. The decision is always yours. Staging build — Scotland dates and pig/digestate figures still being verified; England, Wales and NI closed periods confirmed August 2026. The Scottish sandy and shallow soil end dates are in doubt: SEPA's NetRegs guidance says 31 December where this tool uses 31 January. Checked 1 October 2026.