Official Statistics

Soil nutrient balances England regions, 2020

Published 27 January 2022

Applies to England

Key Messages

• The nitrogen balance varies considerably between regions and ranges from a surplus of 116.5 kg/ha for the West Midlands to 24.3kg/ha for the North East.
• The phosphorus balance varies considerably between regions and ranges from a surplus of 11.2 kg/ha for the West Midlands to a deficit of -2.1 kg/ha for the North East.

Summary of provisional estimates for the nitrogen and phosphorus balances for 2020

Kg of nutrient per hectare	Nitrogen	Phosphorus
North East	24.3	-2.1
North West	74.8	7.5
Yorkshire & The Humber	93.3	6.9
East Midlands	107.2	7.2
West Midlands	116.5	11.2
East of England	100.1	4.1
South East & London	63.6	1.5
South West	93.0	8.5
ENGLAND	88.1	6.1

These regional breakdowns are derived from a combination of the England soil nutrient balances and the Total Income from Farming for the Regions of England. More details are in the Methodology part of Section 3.

1. Regional Nitrogen Balance

Figure 1.1 – Map of nitrogen balance for England regions, 2020

Figure 1.2 – Nitrogen balance for England regions, 2020

Kg/ha	Inputs	Outputs	Balance (inputs minus outputs)
North East	116.8	92.6	24.3
North West	160.5	85.8	74.8
Yorkshire & The Humber	189.2	95.9	93.3
East Midlands	205.0	97.9	107.2
West Midlands	205.3	88.8	116.5
East of England	208.9	108.8	100.1
South East & London	158.9	95.3	63.6
South West	180.4	87.4	93.0
ENGLAND	182.5	94.3	88.1

Key points are:

• The nitrogen balance varies considerably between regions and ranges from a surplus of 116.5 kg/ha for the West Midlands to 24.3kg/ha for the North East.
• The East Midlands, West Midlands and East of England showed the highest surplus of nitrogen in 2020, with the lowest surplus seen in the North East.

2. Regional Phosphorus Balance

Figure 2.1 – Map of phosphorus balance for England regions, 2020

Figure 2.2 – Phosphorus balance for England regions, 2020

Kg/ha	Inputs	Outputs	Balance (inputs minus outputs)
North East	13.4	15.4	-2.1
North West	21.5	13.9	7.5
Yorkshire & The Humber	23.4	16.5	6.9
East Midlands	24.2	17.0	7.2
West Midlands	26.2	15.0	11.2
East of England	23.3	19.2	4.1
South East & London	17.7	16.2	1.5
South West	23.0	14.5	8.5
ENGLAND	22.1	16.0	6.1

Key points are:

• The phosphorus balance varies considerably between regions and ranges from a surplus of 11.2 kg/ha for the West Midlands to a deficit of (-)2.1 kg/ha for the North East.
• The regions in the west of England where livestock farming is predominant tended to show higher phosphorus surpluses than the regions in the east where cropping is predominant. This was particularly evident in the North East and South East & London.

3. About these statistics

3.1 Background

Soil nutrient balances provide a method for estimating the nutrient loadings of nitrogen and phosphorus to managed agricultural soils. Whilst a shortage of nutrients can limit the productivity of agricultural soils, a surplus of these nutrients poses a serious environmental risk. Losses of nutrients to the environment can impact on air quality (ammonia emissions), water quality (nitrate and phosphate levels in rivers) and climate change (nitrous oxide emissions). A soil nutrient balance estimate, expressed as a loading of nitrogen or phosphorus per hectare of managed agricultural land can be used as an indicator of the environmental risks. It provides a high level measure which can be used to monitor long term trends and to make meaningful comparisons between countries.

3.2 Methodology

A methodology for calculating soil nutrient balances has been developed by OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) and adopted by Eurostat (Statistical body of the European Commission). Although based on an internationally recognised methodology, the nutrient balance estimates are subject to a level of uncertainty or error margins.

The approach estimates the full range of nutrient inputs and removals to soils from all sources. The input sources are: manures, mineral fertilisers, atmospheric deposition and biological fixation. The removals sources are: crop production and fodder production for livestock, including grazing. The nutrient input or removal from each source is either estimated directly (atmospheric deposition) or calculated by applying a coefficient (e.g. for the amount of nitrogen that a dairy cow produces each year) to the corresponding physical data characteristic (e.g. number of dairy cows). The relevant coefficients are derived from research and the physical data is taken from a wide range of data sources many of which are already published as official statistics.

3.3 UK approach

The estimates within this release are based on a programme of work to develop and improve the methodology and data sources. This work includes two funded projects and follow-up work carried out within Defra.

Follow-up work is presented in a separate paper that gives an overview of the methods utilised to compile the data series within this release. The paper also gives details of where they differ to the proposals within the ADAS project and provides a commentary on the resultant balances and components. The paper can be found here

The estimates presented in this Statistics Notice use the June Survey data for England for commercial holdings for 2009 onwards and for all farms for preceding years. A consistent time series can be found in the accompanying excel worksheets.

Managed agricultural land has been defined as the utilised agricultural area (UAA) excluding common land and sole right rough grazing. The balance per hectare is based on the area of managed agricultural land. This is based on the approximation that this is the only land to which significant levels of fertilisers and manures are applied.

3.4 Regional breakdowns

These regional breakdowns are derived from a combination of the England soil nutrient balances and the Total Income from Farming for the Regions of England.

The results for England are apportioned across the 8 regions based on regional data published for the aggregate farm accounts. Each individual element of the nutrient balance is shared out across the regions in proportion to the relevant item from the farm accounts. For example the volume of nitrogen input from cattle for each region is based on that region’s share of the total cattle population. Similarly, the total volume of nitrogen offtake from cereals for each region is based on that region’s share of the cereals area. The individual components are then aggregated into an overall balance sheet to calculate the overall net balance, either a surplus (greater than zero) or a deficit (less than zero).

4. Glossary

• Nutrients: The key macro-nutrients required for crop growth which are nitrogen and phosphorus
• Inputs: The total amount of inputs of each nutrient to the soil. This can be through application of mineral fertilisers or organic manures, atmospheric deposition or biological fixation
• Offtake: The total amount of nutrients removed from the soil by the growth of crops, which are either harvested or grazed by livestock.
• Nutrient balance: The difference between the inputs and the offtake for each nutrient
• Loading: Another term for the balance, conveying that this is the total net amount being loaded onto the soil over a year
• Surplus: If the annual inputs exceed the offtake the net balance represents a surplus of the nutrient. This surplus represents an environmental risk as it can be lost from the soil to the air or water courses.
• Deficit: If the annual inputs are less than the offtake the net balance represents a deficit of the nutrient and hence the crop growth requirements will not have been met.

5. National and Official Statistics

Publications with National Statistics status meet the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality and public value, and it is our responsibility to maintain compliance with these standards.

The soil nutrient balance estimates are based on a methodology developed by the OECD and adopted by Eurostat (see the Methodology section at the end for more detail). Whilst this methodology is sound and allows meaningful comparisons between countries and over time, the specific data sources used within different countries will vary depending on the data available. The majority of the data sources used to calculate these nutrient balance estimates are designated as National Statistics. However, some of the data are from sources that do not have this designation and may have greater levels of uncertainty. As a result these estimates have been designated as Official Statistics.

For general enquiries about National and Official Statistics, contact the National Statistics Public Enquiry Service:

Tel: 0845 601 3034

Email: info@statistics.gov.uk

6. Contact details

Email: agri.environmentstatistics@defra.gov.uk

Media enquiries: 0345 051 8486