Nutrient management
Published 13 June 2024
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2024
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Effective nutrient management provides sufficient nutrients to meet the growth requirements of crops and grassland whilst managing environmental impacts; it can help minimise GHG emissions, reduce the incidence of diffuse water pollution and increase productivity by reducing input costs. Here we consider how farmers manage the application of fertilisers and manures, the use of nutrient management plans and how nutrient requirements are calculated and monitored.
Nutrient Management Plans
Figure 1 Proportion of holdings with a nutrient management plan
| Year | Holdings with a nutrient management plan | Holdings without a nutrient management plan | Not applicable | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 57% | 32% | 11% | 100% |
| 2021 | 56% | 32% | 12% | 100% |
| 2022 | 54% | 33% | 13% | 100% |
| 2023 | 56% | 31% | 13% | 100% |
| 2024 | 57% | 33% | 10% | 100% |
Notes:
- The sum of the components may not equal 100% due to rounding.
In 2024, 57% of farmers had a nutrient management plan. This has remained largely unchanged in recent years (Figure 1) and at a similar level to that seen in 2011 when this survey began. Of those with a plan, 28% created it themselves without professional help, a further 33% created their plan with professional advice and the remaining 39% had the plan created for them by a contractor or adviser (Figure 2).
Figure 2 Proportion of holdings who either created the plan themselves or used advisers/professional advice
| Year | Self produced plan without professional advice | Self produced plan with professional advice | Plan produced by an adviser or contractor | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 22% | 44% | 33% | 100% |
| 2021 | 28% | 37% | 35% | 100% |
| 2022 | 31% | 39% | 30% | 100% |
| 2023 | 28% | 36% | 36% | 100% |
| 2024 | 28% | 33% | 39% | 100% |
Notes:
- The sum of the components may not equal 100% due to rounding.
Of those that sought professional advice when producing the plan themselves, 79% did so from fertiliser advisors or agronomists. Of those with a nutrient management plan 68% update it every year and 90% refer to it at least once a year.
PLANET, Muddy Boots, Farmade/Multicrop and Tried & Tested are methods for creating nutrient management plans. However, a large proportion of farmers (Figure 3) use other methods not listed on the survey form to create their plans (30% in 2024). The ‘Nutrient Management Guide (RB209)’ has consistently been the most common source of recommendations for plans since we started collecting these data. This remains the case in 2024, with 59% of farms with a nutrient management plan using this guide.
Figure 3 Proportion of holdings using each tool to create a nutrient management plan
| Response | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Other | 30% | 30% |
| Don’t know | 28% | 29% |
| PLANET | 13% | 16% |
| Muddy Boots | 12% | 15% |
| Industry plan - Tried and Tested | 13% | 11% |
| Farmade/Multicrop | 6% | 5% |
For the first time we asked farmers questions on how their nutrient management plans were funded and if this resulted in any changes. In 2024, 81% of those with a nutrient management plan said it was self-funded. A further 14% had funded their plan using the Sustainable Farming Incentive, 1% had funded the plan with another agri-environment scheme and the remainder funded in some other way.
Of those that received funding, 28% said this had resulted in updating their plan more regularly, 43% said they had a better quality plan and 33% said the funding had resulted in no change.
Nutrient testing
The proportion of farmers undertaking some form of nutrient testing on soil has remained stable in recent years. In 2024, 74% of farmers were regularly testing the nutrient content (indices) of soil and 76% were regularly testing the pH.
In 2024, a large proportion of farms (65%) have calculated a whole farm nutrient balance for nitrogen, phosphorus or potassium. Of these, 34% of farms have calculated the balance every year, 8% every 2 years, and 24% every 3 or more years (Figure 4).
Figure 4 Proportion of holdings calculating a whole farm nutrient balance for N (nitrogen) or P (phosphorus) or K (potassium) by frequency
| Year | Every year | Every 2 years | Every 3 years or more | Never | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 30% | 7% | 22% | 42% | 100% |
| 2021 | 30% | 8% | 23% | 39% | 100% |
| 2022 | 26% | 7% | 24% | 43% | 100% |
| 2023 | 32% | 7% | 22% | 40% | 100% |
| 2024 | 34% | 8% | 24% | 35% | 100% |
Notes:
- The sum of the components may not equal 100% due to rounding.
When testing for other metals, a large proportion of farms (62%) have never tested their soils for levels of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead or zinc. A further 29% had tested in some fields, 6% in every field, and the remaining 3% in one field.
The proportion of farmers undertaking nutrient testing of manure has increased steadily over the past five years, with 39% of farmers saying no testing is being done in 2024 compared to 49% in 2020. Of those who did test in 2024, 38% tested based on published tables, 18% used sampling and lab analysis and 5% sampling and on-farm testing (Figure 5).
Figure 5 Proportion of holdings testing nutrient content of manure by method
| Response | 2020 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| No testing done | 49% | 39% |
| Based on published tables | 36% | 38% |
| Sampling and lab analysis | 14% | 18% |
| Sampling and on-farm testing | 4% | 5% |
For the first time we asked farmers questions on how their programme of soil testing was funded and if this resulted in any changes. In 2024, 83% of those with a programme of soil testing said it was self-funded. A further 12% had funded the testing using the Sustainable Farming Incentive, 2% had funded the testing with another agri-environment scheme and the remainder funded in some other way.
Of those that received funding, 58% said this had resulted in testing more frequently and 42% said the funding had resulted in no change to testing.
Manure Management Plans
In 2024, 68% of farms had a manure management plan. A large proportion of farmers (89%) with a manure management plan used Nutrient Management Guide (RB209) or the Code of Good Agricultural Practice (CoGAP) as the source of nutrient recommendations.
Soil monitoring
Soil Monitoring looks at the use of soil organic matter and whether this is being recorded. Organic matter helps to retain nutrients and water in soil. Benefits include reduced compaction and surface crusting, plus improved water infiltration into the soil.
In 2024, 53% of farmers kept track of soil organic matter on their farm, an increase from 43% in 2023. Of those not keeping track, 34% of farmers did not consider it important enough to test for. Other obstacles included difficulty interpreting results, selected by 20% of farmers and expense, selected by 28% (Figure 6).
Figure 6 Reasons preventing farmers keeping track of soil organic matter (proportion of holdings)
| Response | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Not important enough to test for | 36% | 34% |
| Too expensive | 23% | 28% |
| Difficult to interpret results | 27% | 20% |
| Other | 25% | 24% |