How can we support farmers to adopt best practice?

Taking a market lead to tackle the Nitrogen problem

Nov 2012

Christine Tacon

Living with Environmental Change Business Advisory Board

Hypoxic and Eutrophic Coastal Areas

Food waste

Farmers can improve their nitrogen use

• Improved decision making– Crop rotation– Nitrogen type– Application timing

• Improved planning– NVZs– Amount required, organic matter, rainfall etc– Soil related efficiency of uptake– Break even calculations

Nitrogen friendly farming

• Use of N sensors/satellite technology • Measurement of run off• Measurement of Nitrous oxide emissions • Prioritise use of waste sources of N • Improve understanding of soils

– Controlled traffic farming– Reduce pressure of equipment

How to spread best practice

• Through farming press, discussion groups, conferences• Ensure farm advisors adequately trained and qualified• Feedback to farmers from water companies of N levels in

water • Ensure we have knowledge to communicate how different

sources of N work in soils• (Ensure the water companies are tackling the issue too)

Or we could be radical

• Treat Nitrogen as a hazardous chemical which can only be applied by trained experts

• Tax fossil fuel derived N to reduce its use and prioritise waste derived N

• Have adequate incentives so “green” fertiliser is commercially justified

• Mandate use of biosolids• Just reduce the allowed levels….as the EU are doing

How retailers can help

• Put pressure on their suppliers to innovate – Low nitrogen bread

• Lock in knowledge through decision support tools– iCrop (Pepsico water use tool)

• Promote best practice and increased farm efficiency– M&S Producer Exchange website– Plan A awards

• Support industry in embedding in existing schemes– LEAF, Red Tractor

Potential use of satellite data

Use of visible light, other electromagnetic radiation and the electromagnetic spectrum

– collecting the radiation that is reflected, emitted or scattered by a target (passive systems)

– illuminating a target with a pulse or beam of radiation and collecting the signal that is reflected or diffracted back to the sensor (active systems).

•From 2013 satellite data will be available day and night over all EU

Marine example

• This image shows chlorophyll concentration

• Yellow and red in open water indicate high concentrations of phytoplankton at or close to the surface of the water. Closer to the coast they are more likely to indicate sand or mud suspended in the water.

In conclusion

• Very few farming businesses are doing any research• Most innovation is coming from the supply industry • We have insufficient knowledge of soil and how N is made

available to plants• The technology and know-how to optimise use of N is

available but only top 10% are using it in the UK• Satellite data could provide much more information• If we don’t work out how to use N efficiently fast, the issue

will be a global one