United Kingdom-Wasting money on fertilizer.

UNITED KINDOM-WASTING MONEY ON FARMS.

NORTH East farmers are being offered 70% off nitrogen soil testing and a follow-up workshop in a scheme funded by the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE).

The events, being held later this month in Morpeth and Houghton-le- Spring, have been organised by Frontier Agriculture and ADAS to educate farms about how much nitrogen to use and to guide them on cutting bills by using manure and slurry.

The particularly wet winter is likely to mean more nitrogen will be needed this spring, but the exact amount can be determined by a soil test. The course will also explore how much effect manure, slurry and crop residues have on the land and over what time period.

The aim is to reduce the amount of bought fertiliser that has to be applied and currently costs around £230 per tonne.

ADAS consultant Nigel MacDonald said: "Accurate nutrient management can also help producers avoid the risk of pollution, which can incur heavy fines and result in deductions in Single Farm Payment allowances."

Only around 15% of fertiliser applications are currently backed by soil sampling, according to the National Beef Association (NBA), which is urging farmers to take samples of their silage meadows and grazing pastures.

It says farmers are throwing money away by using thousands of tonnes of phosphate – costing around £600 a tonne – and potash, which may not be needed, especially if they have regularly applied slurry or manure.

NBA director Kim Haywood said: "Over £1bn is spent on fertiliser each year and costings show that it is still the bigge st contributor to recent rises in farm management expense following dramatic price rises over 2008.

"The association has been told that over the last 10 years, perhaps as much as 70% of nitrogen fertiliser has, for a number of reasons, not been taken up by the crop.

"Total wastage from unnecessary applications of nitrogen and phosphate is estimated at around £400m a year on a cross-UK basis and sensible farmers will react to this by making sure their soil is fully receptive to compound fertiliser and that they are making full use of their slurry and hard manure too."

Soil sampling costs around £10-£12 for each sample. The dayp-long North East courses, which include two soil samples followed up with analysis and advice, will cost farmers £110 after the RDPE discount is taken into account.

The Houghton-le-Spring event takes place on March 23 and the Morpeth workshop is on March 24. Anyone interested in attending should call (01944) 738 646 or email pauline.wall@adas.co.uk before March 10 to allow time for soil sampling.

Over the last 10 years, perhaps as much as 70% of nitrogen fertiliser has, not been taken up by the crop.