A review has recommended that nutrient calculators developed by College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) should remain the industry standard in Northern Ireland, but require updating.
AgriSearch recently commissioned agricultural consultants, ADAS, to conduct a review of nutrient management planning tools (NMPTs) available for use with forage crops, mainly grassland, in Northern Ireland.
Along with the CAFRE nutrient calculators, ADAS examined three tools available in the UK and Ireland, as well as methods offered in the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and New Zealand.
Review
Nutrient management planning is fundamental to economic and environmentally sustainable farming systems.
It helps farmers to match inputs of nutrients to crop demand which minimises production costs and losses to the environment.
The review notes that there are a number of nutrient management planning tools available to farmers and agricultural advisors in Northern Ireland.
“It is important that these tools are up-to-date and easily accessible to maximise uptake and ensure that nutrient management decisions are based on the most relevant scientific evidence base,” the document states.
The CAFRE nutrient calculators are the recommended ‘industry standard’ NMPTs to use in Northern Ireland and have an established user-base and support system.
The review noted that the calculators are web-based, but dated, having not been updated since they were developed, apart from regular updates to the underlying recommendations from Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) .
“It is therefore recommended that these calculators continue to be the standard recommended tools for use in Northern Ireland, with the aim of improving their functionality, accuracy and usability rather than seeking to produce anything ‘new’,” ADAS states.
Among the recommendations are for more accurate accounting of nutrients in organic matter; along with the inclusion of farmgate nutrient balance; nutrient prices and information on the import and export of organic manures.
ADAS also recommended that CAFRE consider a mobile application to allow farmers or advisors to enter data while they are in the field.