Farmers in England must use urea fertiliser inhibitors this spring to avoid government restrictions, warns AIC
Farmers in England preparing for the busy spring season must remember to use an inhibitor when applying urea fertilisers to avoid further government restrictions and help improve air quality, the Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC) has warned.
The agri-supply trade association is reminding farmers and growers that the agricultural supply industry and farming unions are committed to working in partnership to deliver substantial ammonia emissions reductions from the use of both solid and liquid fertilisers containing urea from April this year.
An industry voluntary approach agreed last year means farmers and growers must use ammonia abatement treatments and inhibitors to counter the risk of the Government seeking to further restrict the use of urea fertiliser with tough regulation, a potential move driven by the urgent need to cut ammonia emissions in the UK.
AIC has worked with farming unions and the industry to find and implement a voluntary solution which ensures farmers' access to vital fertilisers while helping to meet the UK's legally binding air quality targets for ammonia emissions.
Jo Gilbertson, AIC's Head of Fertiliser, said: "The industry's collective agreement with the Government to use inhibitors, and therefore avoid the very real threat of an outright ban on urea fertilisers, was hard won last year.
"It is imperative that the entire farming industry maintains its clear commitment to support this arrangement in the face of the ever-present threat of regulation, which is driven by the UK's legal obligations to cut ammonia emissions as part of international air improvement treaties."
Industry commitment
In England, solid fertilisers, blends and compounds with more than 1% urea applied any time from 1 April through to 15 January each year must use effective protection to reduce ammonia emissions.
Farmers in England using liquid fertilisers with more than 1% urea applied any time from 1 April to 15 January each year must also use effective protection to reduce ammonia emissions.
Unprotected, uninhibited liquid fertiliser containing urea can only be applied between 1 April and the last application in autumn if agronomic justification is provided by FACTS-qualified farm personnel or advice specific to the crop has been provided by a FACTS-qualified adviser and been followed.
More information is available through a free 45-minute online BASIS course which has been designed in collaboration with AIC, as well as the National Farmers Union (NFU), the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), the Association of Independent Crop Consultants (AICC), the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB), and Red Tractor to give farmers the knowledge and tools to reduce ammonia emissions with key points brought together in downloadable to-do lists.
Notes for editors
The Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC) is the UK’s leading agricultural supply trade association, representing agricultural supply chain sectors including arable marketing, crop protection, agronomy, feed, fertiliser, and seed.
Formed in 2003, AIC has over 230 Members in the agri-supply trade which are responsible for £17.8 billion of annual farm trade.
AIC is marking 20 years as the leading voice of the UK agri-supply industry, working in support of modern, sustainable, commercial agriculture. Visit the website to find out more.
Political lobbying and policy influencing is a major part of its work, as well as supporting Members with technical information.
AIC Services, which is the professional services arm of the AIC, manages a range of services, including Assurance Schemes recognised by UK government as essential tools to underpin feed and food safety alongside fertiliser security. These include:
-
Feed Materials Assurance Scheme (FEMAS)
-
Feed Adviser Register (FAR)
-
Forage Assurance Scheme (FAA)
Visit the AIC website to find out more.
Press contact
Oli Hill, Communications Manager, AIC
+44 (0)1733 385230
[email protected]
Author
Oli Hill
As Head of Communications, Oli creates and oversees the content published on AIC's website, emails, Member briefings, print publications, and social media. A qualified multimedia journalist, he previously spent six years working at Farmers Weekly magazine as a Senior Reporter on the arable team, and latterly as Community Editor. More recently he was Communications Manager at Red Tractor.