Nutrient Management Plans and Cross Compliance

Now legislation is coming into force whereby they not only have to conform to this principle they also have to be able to demonstrate this compliance. Maintaining and improving soil organic matter is key to a healthy soil, and a regular application of organic manure such as Nutri-Bio is a good way of doing this.

To comply with the statutory requirements of cross compliance if you are farming within an NVZ you must:

• Prepare and implement a fertiliser and manure plan.
• Ensure that adequate records are kept for land within NVZs relating to livestock numbers, use of inorganic fertiliser and use of organic manures.

It is impossible to know exactly what the level of nitrogen nutrient applications of organic manures will be contributing to crop nutrient needs because availability happens over time and is dependent upon a number of factors, such as soil moisture and temperature, the following crop, as well as the weather. Soil sampling in the spring prior to topdressing is the obvious way to fill this void in knowledge. This should be done to a depth of 90 cms in order to get an accurate picture of the soil nitrogen reserves, and to also take samples representatively from many points across a field. Having this information not only ticks the right boxes for cross compliance, it also means that the correct amounts of inorganic fertilizer can be applied in the spring. With nitrogen fertiliser prices at around £160.00 per tonne soil sampling can lead to substantial savings on the fertiliser bills.

Envirofield operate Geonor soil sampling equipment mounted on Polaris Ranger 6 wheel drive ATV's, which can quickly and effectively soil sample fields to a depth of 90 cms.

With low ground pressure tyres and 6 wheel drive these machines can obtain a representative sample from fields to the required depth leaving little trace across crops under most soil conditions. Careful selection of fields on a farm means results can be extrapolated from sampled fields to give field specific nutrient recommendations across the farm for a minimal cost. This not only means that crops get the exact nutrient inputs that they need but also gives documentation for compliance. When done in the early spring it also means that historic factors such as autumn rainfall are irrelevant.

The Environment Agency is charged by DEFRA to monitor nutrient inputs on farm to ensure compliance with NVZ rules and they base all their nutrient values on RB209. Envirofield can take field soil samples to 90 cms to provide the documentary evidence for compliance with NVZ rules. If there is a deviation from the inputs recommended in RB209, without documented information to back the calculations, then there is a high risk of being deemed non compliant and this can mean area payments being withheld.

Envirofield can be contacted by Telephone on 01284 850473 or 0777 555 8920, By Fax on 01284 851028 or by e-mail to Iain@envirofield.co.uk