The facility for declaring 2024 closing stock of fertiliser on the National Fertiliser Database (NFD) is now available online.
The final date for submission of closing stock of fertiliser on farms and premises is October 15, 2024.
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue said today (Monday, September 23): “As we move into the second year of collecting data, I am pleased with the high level of engagement by the farming sector, fertiliser merchants and the fertiliser industry over the past year.
“There are now just over 122,000 Professional Fertiliser End Users (FEU) registered on the NFD, 425 Fertiliser Economic Operators (FEO) registrations and the system has captured more than 481,000 transactions.
“I would strongly encourage fertiliser users to log on to agfood.ie and complete their closing stock return.”
Since September 1, 2023 any individual who wants to to sell or purchase fertiliser, including lime, must be registered on the National Fertiliser Database.
Fertiliser database
Farmers and other professional FEO’s can now declare closing stock of fertiliser held on their farms and premises.
According to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) any declarations must also include those farms and premises that “have no stock on hand”.
The department has said that declaration of closing stock is a straightforward online process.
It has also specified that in cases where there are no stocks of fertiliser on hand, it is simply a matter of “ticking a box” to declare a nil stock return.
“Where there is fertiliser present, the declaration should include the type of fertiliser and the quantities being held,” DAFM stated.
According to the department the fertiliser database was developed to:
- Record fertiliser sales along the supply chain;
- Achieve better compliance with water quality and environmental ambitions;
- Help Ireland meet commitments to the European Commission arising from its fifth Nitrates Action Programme (NAP);
- To simplify farmer’s reporting of fertiliser use under regulatory schemes and voluntary initiatives.