The UK’s Department for Environment & Rural Affairs’ (Defra) proposed solid urea fertilizer rules to be introduced to the “Red Tractor” farm assurance scheme from April 2023 have been delayed by a year, according to a report by Farmers Weekly.
Defra in March last year already had decided to delay the implementation until April 2023, at the earliest (GM April 1, 2022).
The original plan was for Red Tractor-assured farms in England to use only untreated urea fertilizers between Jan. 15 to March 31, and urease inhibitor-treated (a chemical that helps to slow the conversion of urea to ammonium) or protected urea fertilizers throughout the rest of the year.
However, given the current nitrogen fertilizer supply issues and price volatility, a formal request from an industry consortium, which included The National Institute of Agricultural Botany (Niab), The Association of Independent Crop Consultants, and the National Farmers Union (NFU), was made to delay the introduction until April 1, 2024, ahead of the 2025 fertilizer season.
Defra subsequently delayed the implementation, but is continuing to monitor progress on industry action and “will regulate if necessary,” according to the report.
The government department originally had been looking at a potential total ban on the use of solid urea fertilizer in the UK as the preferred option among two others, amid concerns that ammonia emissions from solid urea fertilizer use are harmful to the environment and to human health.
But Defra decided upon an alternative approach incorporating the two alternate options rather than a total ban.