89% of fertiliser users had no closing stock to declare by deadline
Over 94,000 professional fertiliser end users submitted closing stock declarations on the National Fertiliser Database (NFD) by last week's deadline.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) confirmed to Agriland that of the 94,619 submissions, some 83,926 (88.6%) had made a nil declaration.
It is a legal requirement that all professional fertiliser users, including farmers, submit an annual closing stock declaration to the NFD.
A 'nil' declaration must also be made where no fertiliser stock is on hand.
Closing stocks are classified as any fertiliser on hand as at 11:59p.m (i.e. one minute before midnight) on September 14 each year.
The following table sets out closing stock declarations by county as of the deadline of October 15, 2026:
| County | CS declared by deadline | Nil declaration |
| Carlow | 1,365 | 1,193 |
| Cavan | 3,580 | 3,235 |
| Clare | 4,230 | 3,735 |
| Cork | 10,222 | 8,203 |
| Donegal | 7,300 | 6,916 |
| Dublin | 1,225 | 830 |
| Galway | 9,577 | 8,874 |
| Kerry | 6,053 | 5,351 |
| Kildare | 1,513 | 1,307 |
| Kilkenny | 2,181 | 1,777 |
| Laois | 2,188 | 1,830 |
| Leitrim | 2,802 | 2,698 |
| Limerick | 3,796 | 3,281 |
| Longford | 1,806 | 1,696 |
| Louth | 919 | 792 |
| Mayo | 7,886 | 7,421 |
| Meath | 2,734 | 2,415 |
| Monaghan | 2,359 | 2,150 |
| Offaly | 2,180 | 1,925 |
| Roscommon | 4,018 | 3,816 |
| Sligo | 3,188 | 3,027 |
| Tipperary | 5,275 | 4,408 |
| Waterford | 1,699 | 1,380 |
| Westmeath | 2,431 | 2,231 |
| Wexford | 2,615 | 2,200 |
| Wicklow | 1,477 | 1,235 |
| Total | 94,619 | 83,926 |
The department said records show 100,563t of compound fertilisers and 137,372t of straight products have been declared to be held in stock by October 15, 2026.
The following table provides a breakdown of the 237,935t of product held in stock by the deadline:
| Product Category | Product quantity |
| Ground limestone | 1,777t |
| Other straights | 25,689t |
| Ammonium Nitrate/Lime Mixtures | 72,894t |
| Compounds and blends without inhibitors | 97,009t |
| Straight products with inhibitors | 12,610t |
| Urea products | 14,530t |
| Compounds and blends with inhibitors | 3,554t |
| Processed lime | 8,486t |
| Other products | 1,384t |
Meanwhile, today (Friday, October 23) is the final day for farmers to ensure they have all the correct sales data on the National Fertiliser Database.
This is necessary for farmers to avail of the €46.2 million Fertiliser Exceptional Aid Scheme recently announced by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon.
The targeted income support is calculated on basis of fertiliser purchases recorded for the period from September 15, 2024 to September 14, 2025.
Support for those farmers who entered farming in 2026 (new entrants) will be calculated on the basis of fertiliser purchases recorded for the period from September 15, 2025 to September 14, 2026.
It is proposed that payments will start to issue under the scheme in early December 2026.
The minimum tonnage of chemical fertiliser eligible for payment under the scheme is 2.5t and the maximum tonnage for which support will be granted will be up to 100t.
The rate per tonne will be €40/t and the minimum payment under the scheme will be €100.
