Subjects · Leaving Cert Agricultural Science
Leaving Cert Agricultural Science: Slurry, manure & water quality
How often Slurry, manure & water quality comes up on the Agricultural Science papers, every year it was asked, and questions to try.
HL Asked on 5 of the last 5 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2025. banker
OL Asked on 2 of the last 5 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2024.
Quick ones on Slurry, manure & water quality.
- Rain destroys the potassium in slurry
- Nutrients wash off into watercourses
- Rain raises the soil pH too far
- Denitrification
- Leaching
- Eutrophication
- Nitrate
- Calcium
- Phosphate
Show the answers
(a) Nutrients wash off into watercourses
(b) Eutrophication
(c) Nitrate
Higher Level
Asked on 5 of the last 5 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2025. banker
Every paper, year by year
| Year | Where it came up |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Q3b |
| 2024 | Q12 |
| 2023 | Q8, Q12 |
| 2022 | Q1b |
| 2021 | Q15 |
Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.
More Slurry, manure & water quality questions
Slurry, manure & water quality, 3 marks
Which stream invertebrate indicates clean, well-oxygenated water?
- Rat-tailed maggot
- Sludge worm
- Stonefly nymph
Show the answer
Stonefly nymph
Stonefly nymphs need high oxygen levels and disappear when water is polluted. Rat-tailed maggots and sludge worms tolerate low oxygen.
Slurry, manure & water quality, 3 marks
What is a main advantage of farmyard manure over slurry for soil?
- It raises the soil pH strongly, like lime
- It adds more organic matter from the straw
- It is much richer in nitrate than slurry is
Show the answer
It adds more organic matter from the straw
FYM contains bedding straw, so it adds bulky organic matter that improves structure, water holding and soil life. Its nutrients are released slowly.
Slurry, manure & water quality, 2 marks
What does the EU Nitrates Directive aim to protect?
- Water from nitrate pollution by agriculture
- Farm incomes from low milk and beef prices each year
- Soils from erosion by wind and rain
Show the answer
Water from nitrate pollution by agriculture
The Nitrates Directive limits how, when and how much organic and chemical nitrogen is spread, to protect groundwater, rivers and lakes.
Ordinary Level
Asked on 2 of the last 5 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2024.
Every paper, year by year
| Year | Where it came up |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Not asked |
| 2024 | Q9b |
| 2023 | Not asked |
| 2022 | Not asked |
| 2021 | Q18d |
Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.
More Slurry, manure & water quality questions
Slurry, manure & water quality, 2 marks
Why is slurry spreading not allowed in the winter closed period?
- Grass grows too fast in winter
- Slurry freezes solid in tanks
- Rain would wash nutrients into water
Show the answer
Rain would wash nutrients into water
In winter grass barely grows and soils are wet, so nutrients run off into rivers and lakes instead of being used. The dates are set in law.
Slurry, manure & water quality, 2 marks
Too much phosphorus reaching a lake causes?
- Acid rain
- Eutrophication
- Flocculation
Show the answer
Eutrophication
Extra nutrients make algae grow fast. When they die, bacteria use up the oxygen breaking them down, and fish die.
Slurry, manure & water quality, 2 marks
Why is a buffer zone left along a river bank?
- To stop slurry and fertiliser reaching the water
- To give the cattle access to drink from the river
- To store silage bales close to water
Show the answer
To stop slurry and fertiliser reaching the water
No slurry, fertiliser or spray is spread on the strip beside a watercourse. Plants there trap run-off, and fencing keeps animals out of the river.
Other Agricultural Science topics
- Animal health & disease
- Beef production
- Breeds & types
- Dairy production & milk quality
- Farm machinery & technology
- Housing, welfare & farmyard
- Investigations & data
- Reproduction & fertility
- Reseeding & sward composition
- Sheep production
- Silage & hay
- Soil biology & nutrient cycles
- Soil testing & fertilisers
- Animal genetics & improvement
- Animal nutrition & feed efficiency
- Biodiversity & habitats
- Climate & emissions
- Farm health & safety
- Grass growth & grazing
- Markets, policy & food quality
- Plant ID & lifecycles
- Ruminant & monogastric digestion
- Seed, germination & establishment
- Soil formation & soil types
- Soil pH, liming & CEC
- Soil texture & structure
- Soil water, air & compaction
- Weeds, pests & crop disease
- Calf rearing & colostrum
- Catch & energy crops
- Cereal & food crop production
- Organic & regenerative farming
- Plant structure & physiology
- Plant breeding & biotechnology