New soil nitrogen calculator launched

Farmers will be able to take advantage of a new soil nitrogen supply calculator which could save them time and money, while helping to protect the environment by avoiding excessive nitrogen application in fertiliser or manures.

The Tried & Tested Soil Nitrogen Supply (SNS) calculator is a spreadsheet available online which can help farmers work out how much nitrogen is available in their soil by taking into account soil types, rainfall and previous crops.

Tried & Tested project co-ordinator Rebecca Wells said: "Knowledge of SNS is important for effective nutrient management. The index is a measure of the soil’s capacity to supply nitrogen to a crop in the absence of applied fertilisers. The more nitrogen the soil can supply the less fertiliser nitrogen needs to be added. Calculating the SNS index can be complicated. The new calculator will help make this process simpler and help farmers navigate the tables in the Fertiliser Manual (RB209) which need to be considered."