Defra backs down on urea ban
2022-0072
The agricultural supply industry and farming unions partnership is committed to delivering substantial ammonia emissions reductions from the use of both solid and liquid fertilisers containing urea from April 2023 in lieu of regulation.
Fertiliser containing urea must only be applied where the following requirements are met:
In Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales fertiliser containing urea (solid and liquid) can be applied as per relevant legislation.
Uptake will be monitored through fertiliser sales and treatment data, Red Tractor monitoring data, and the British Survey of Fertiliser Practice. This will establish whether the ammonia abatement expected is achieved.
In addition, Defra will gather relevant data to monitor and assess the level of ammonia abatement achieved by the scheme.
All applications should be made before the end of October in accordance with RB209.
Under the industry-led scheme, the consortium and fertiliser suppliers will:
The roll-out will be tracked from October 2024 with an expectation of significant ammonia emissions abatement by the end of 2024.
This would inform the government of the potential part this approach will play in meeting its national air quality obligations and therefore assess the need for any regulatory intervention.
The industry consortium will not be limiting their ambition to 11.2kt aiming to close the gap between 11.2Kt and 14.1kt (Defra’s alternative regulatory Option 2a mandating the use of UIs/protected fertilisers containing urea, all year round).
This will be done with the support of the wider ambitions of the consortium’s nutrient management campaign to 2030.
The concept of improving nitrogen use efficiency by improving farm nutrient balance is well embedded in Option 4 and co-benefits for ammonia mitigation are expected as a result.
For additional information, visit the NFU website and BASIS website.