www.agtechdaily.com
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • Home
  • Agriculture
  • Food
  • Technology
  • Sustainability
Contact
ABOUT US
  • Home
  • Agriculture
  • Food
  • Technology
  • Sustainability
No Result
View All Result
www.agtechdaily.com
No Result
View All Result
Home Technology

Reprieve for autumn muck spreading as fertiliser prices bite

Admin by Admin
March 30, 2022
Reading Time:4min read
0
Buy JNews
ADVERTISEMENT

RELATED POSTS

Prof Moni Shares His Journey of Strengthening India’s Agricultural Informatics & E-Governance at KJ Chaupal

Letters: Added context | Farmworker conditions

Belize seeking to revive multi-million dollar shrimp industry

Changes to the rules around autumn muck spreading and a reprieve for urea application are included in a raft of measures from Defra to help English farmers cope with the sharp increases in fertiliser prices.

Other steps will include grants to help farmers store more slurry, funding to encourage the growing of nitrogen-fixing crops, and support for the development of new organic-based fertilisers.

See also: FW Opinion – Don’t jump the gun with an unfair solid urea ban

“The significant rise in the cost of fertiliser is a reminder that we need to reduce our dependence on manufacturing processes dependent on gas,” said Defra secretary George Eustice.

“Many of the challenges we face in agriculture will require a fusion of new technology with conventional principles of good farm husbandry.

“The measures we have announced today are not the whole solution, but will help farmers manage their nitrogen needs in the year ahead.”

No ban on urea

Announcing the government’s response to last year’s consultation on the use of urea, which had pointed to an outright ban in an attempt to reduce ammonia emissions from agriculture, Defra said any changes would be delayed at least a year “to help farmers manage their costs and give them more time to adapt”.

When restrictions are introduced in April next year, they will be incorporated into a new Red Tractor standard which will allow the use of untreated/unprotected urea fertilisers between 15 January and 31 March.

Any further applications during the rest of the year will require the use of ammonia inhibitors on the urea. 

Farming Rules for Water

In a move to further support farmers, revised and improved statutory guidance has been agreed on how farmers should limit the use of slurry and other farmyard manure at certain times of year.

“This will clarify that the government does not intend to ban autumn manure spreading through the Farming Rules for Water, but clarifies the conditions when it is not appropriate for the Environment Agency to sanction farmers when they spread manure in the autumn and winter months,” the Defra statement said. Further details are still awaited.

Grants to help farmers store and cover up to six months’ worth of slurry will also be provided, but rates will not be announced until later in the year.

This will help reduce dependence on artificial fertilisers by storing organic nutrients until needed or for onward processing, Defra says.

Sustainable Farming Incentive

Further details of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) have also been published (see panel below).

“Given current fertiliser prices, the priority must be to pioneer new technologies to manufacture more organic-based fertiliser products, and rediscover techniques such as using nitrogen fixing legumes and clovers as an alternative to fertiliser,” the Defra statement said.  

The government will pay farmers to help them with the costs of sowing nitrogen-fixing plants and green manures to substitute some of their fertiliser requirements for the coming season.

Other measures

An industry fertiliser roundtable will also meet this week, chaired by the Defra farming minister, Victoria Prentis, to better understand the impact of current pressures on farmers.

And a further £20.5m is being put into the Farming Innovation Programme, to fund research into “climate-smart farming” and collaborative projects to boost productivity.

Reaction

Responding to the announcement, Country Land and Business Association president Mark Tufnell pointed to the “sheer scale of the challenges ahead in the UK’s food production”.

“The exceptionally high price of fertiliser can be mitigated only to a degree by high commodity prices,” he said.

“Some farmers may choose not to spread fertiliser at all this year. 

“But if prices continue to stay at this all-time high, then government will need to urgently consider ways of increasing and diversifying domestic fertiliser production.”

Soil Association farming director Liz Bowles also welcomed Defra’s attempts to reduce reliance on artificial nitrogen fertiliser.

“It’s vital that we act differently to our post-war response in the 1940s by prioritising climate and nature alongside food security,” she said.

“The ongoing damage being done to soils, wildlife and climate poses the biggest threat to food security, and nature-friendly, agroecological farming provides the best path to ensuring long-term resilience.”

Sustainable Farming Incentive 2022 – rates confirmed

Standard

Level

Total annual payment

Arable and horticultural soils

Introductory

  £22/ha

 

 Intermediate

£40/ha

Improved grassland soils

Introductory

£28/ha

 

 Intermediate

£58/ha

Moorland

Introductory

£10.30/ha

 

Additional payment 

£265 per agreement

Further updates:

  • Farmers can apply for SFI from the summer onwards – there is no fixed application window.
  • Tenants on short-term rolling tenancy agreements can enter SFI, provided they expect to have management control for at least three years.
  • The online application system has been simplified to make it faster and easier for farmers to apply.

Source link

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...
Admin

Admin

Related Posts

Technology

Prof Moni Shares His Journey of Strengthening India’s Agricultural Informatics & E-Governance at KJ Chaupal

February 1, 2023
Technology

Letters: Added context | Farmworker conditions

February 1, 2023
Technology

Belize seeking to revive multi-million dollar shrimp industry

February 1, 2023
Technology

United, Tallgrass, Green Plains form JV to develop SAF technology

February 1, 2023
Technology

UGI’s Frank King to Present the Benefits of the RNG in Fighting Climate Change at Appalachian RNG Conference – Agriculture Industry Today

January 31, 2023
Technology

Need for Transition from Agri-Culture to Agri-Business – Jammu Kashmir Latest News | Tourism

January 31, 2023
Next Post

Pilot project using modern technology to control fall armyworm attack

Plant-based food sales hit $7.4B in 2021

Latest News

Sources of staph, fecal bacteria washing into Hilo Bay detected by UH scientists

September 19, 2022

Non-sugar the ‘unstoppable trend’ in beverages, PepsiCo’s Laguarta says

July 19, 2022

FDA issues the final rule for traceability records for certain foods

January 29, 2023

Most Popular

  • Agricultural E-Commerce Boosts Incomes For Cherry farmers in Shandong

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Seeds of Discord: Farmers Accused of Fraud in Dicamba Dispute | Arkansas Business News

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Farm Credit Administration tours the Midwest – Agweek

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • 12 Biggest Agriculture Companies in the World

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • How Technology Is Changing Agriculture

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn
www.agtechdaily.com

AgTech Daily provides in-depth journalism and insight into the most impactful news and trends shaping the agricultural and food technology industry

Categories

  • Agriculture
  • Announcements
  • Food
  • Others
  • Sustainability
  • Technology

Quick Links

  • Home
  • About us

© 2022 - All Right Reserved. www.agtechdaily.com.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Agriculture
  • Food
  • Technology
  • Sustainability

© 2022 - All Right Reserved. www.agtechdaily.com.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
%d bloggers like this: