Farmers are reminded that only protected urea fertiliser products can be spread beyond 1 April but that this will offer both economic and environmental benefits.
The rules, which were brought into force last April and which are audited through Red Tractor, aim to reduce ammonia emissions from urea.
Protected urea products can cost around 10% more than unprotected urea but offer up to a 70% reduction in ammonia losses. The NT26 research project suggests that this will provide an economic return of 2:1 on arable crops.
Tom Wells, nutrition agronomist at Origin Soil Nutrition, says that protected urea will be a viable option for several reasons.
“Unprotected urea can be considered an agronomic and economic substitute for AN, with trials showing that protected urea consistently matches AN’s yield responses and has the potential to be cheaper per unit cost of nitrogen due to a higher N content in each bag.
“Furthermore, Origin’s OEN protected urea can be blended with phosphates, without deterioration, and farmers have the option to use this in NPK blends. It also doesn’t have the regulatory storage challenges of AN.”