Manufactured nitrogen fertiliser use falls by 8%

Fertiliser co-operatives are determined to assist their farmer owners with reducing their environmental impact.

The New Zealand fertiliser co-operatives work hard with their shareholders to enable them to use the wide range of tools available to manage their environmental footprint.

"In the past year, there has been a reduction of 8% in the use of manufactured nitrogen fertilisers (MNF)," said Dr Vera Power, Chief Executive of the Fertiliser Association of New Zealand.

"Because the fertiliser co-operatives are owned by the people who use the product they supply, they do not 'push' anything on to farmers - farmers make informed decisions about how they farm."

Many farming decisions will affect the amount of nitrogen used. For example, pay-outs, input costs, climate and soil conditions, stocking rates, pasture management.

The co-operatives have already helped many of their farmer shareholder to adjust to the new nitrogen limit of 190kg/ha, and the effect is felt very differently in some parts of the country compared to others.

"There is no one size fits all, and no single way to farm," added Dr Power.

It is clear that farm management is getting increasingly smarter and is able to produce food with less inputs. Analysis using nutrient budgeting tool Overseer, suggests that over the last 10 years in Canterbury, the shift to best practice has resulted in nitrogen loss being decreased by a third.

In Canterbury, farms are already operating within some of the strictest limits in the country. As a result, Environment Canterbury has commented that improvements are starting to be seen in some rivers, but they acknowledge that improvements in groundwater will take longer.