Lords probe farming groups on fertiliser use and environment

Nitrogen fertiliser usage in UK agriculture faced scrutiny during a House of Lords select committee session on 5 March, around its impact on water and air quality.

Farming representatives from the NFU, Adas, Soil Association, and Nature Friendly Farming Network were asked about the role of fertiliser on farm, as well as the effectiveness of nutrient management plans and uptake of regenerative farming practices.

Almost three-quarters of farms test soils for nutrients, according to Martin Lines, chief executive of the Nature Friendly Farming Network, while roughly 57% have a nutrient management plan.

See also: Natural England accused of blocking nutrient solution

He added that government regulation was already in place around air quality and ammonia coming from fertiliser and many farm businesses had started to invest in covered slurry stores and tanks on farm.

NFU president Tom Bradshaw told peers that nitrogen fertiliser usage had fallen by 50% since 1990.

“When we look at fertiliser prices it is the most expensive input any farmers will use, so using it judiciously is very important,” he said.

“If we are not careful though, it is very easy to victimise nitrogen fertiliser and I think we have to remember that there is probably half of the planet alive because of nitrogen fertiliser.”

The UK is completely dependent on importing liquid ammonia even to manufacture fertiliser domestically, according to the NFU, which raises questions about over reliance on imports.

Mr Bradshaw indicated that if the UK were to stop using artificial fertiliser, it would lead to a dramatic fall in the UK’s food production capacity.

He said: “There is a very real risk that we are going to end up with a higher system of standards here, the carbon fertiliser tax being a perfect example of this.

“If we are not taxing food that comes in using fertiliser which hasn’t been taxed, then all we are doing is making ourselves less competitive.”

John Williams, principal soil scientist at Adas, suggested it was key for farm businesses to look into nutrient management, soils and manure, and then only top up with bagged fertiliser in order to meet optimum crop demand.

“Generally, this will be the most economical way of farming for most situations. Fertiliser is expensive and you don’t want to be putting too much on, similarly you want to make sure the type of fertiliser is appropriate to be optimal.”

Organic

Organic and regenerative farming practices such as growing cover crops and herbal leys are becoming increasingly popular in the UK.

However, when questioned by peers, Jerry Alford, farming adviser at the Soil Association, said that only about 3% of UK farmland is organic certified.

Organic farming systems are restricted from use artificial nitrogen inputs and rely instead on other factors, such as growing pulses, clovers, and lucerne in rotations.

Mr Alford said: “We want to see the government prioritising adoption of best practice from organic farming with a greater focus on healthy soils and whole-farm approaches to nutrient recycling.”

He told the hearing that productivity depends on the systems and there were some organic vegetable cropping systems which were similar in yields to conventional methods.

However, he conceded that yields for organic arable cropping were typically just 40% to 50% of those in a conventional system.

This was backed up by Peter Cowlrick, technical director at CCC Agronomy, who said that organic yields were generally about half of what a conventional farm would be achieving and can often be less than that.

Mr Cowlrick said: “The land mass required to produce organic food to feed the nation would be considerable, and there really isn’t enough land to go round in the UK to achieve that.”