Farmers saw their crop yields increase by 2.4% - despite cutting back on the use of fertiliser and other inputs because of alarming rises last year, according to a study.

New analysis by the Nature Friendly Farming Network (NFFN) suggests the industry can reduce fertiliser use without compromising yields.

It points to data released by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) last week which suggests high prices forced farmers to rethink how much they used, with usage down by more than 20% for five key arable crops.

Excluding potatoes - which saw an increase as farmers fought to deal with the impact of last year’s drought - fertiliser use dropped by more than a quarter.

Despite his, yields rose by an average of 2.4% (excluding potatoes), NFFN pointed out.

Oilseed rape yields were up 6.5% for oilseed rape and winter wheat - many farmers' biggest earner - was up 7%.

NFFN suggested it may be possible to cut fertiliser usage without reducing food production in the UK.

With the manufacture and use of fertilisers a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, reducing the reliance of UK farming on artificial fertiliser is a key step in achieving net zero carbon by 2040, said NFFN.

With bad news this week on the fertiliser manufacture front after CF Fertilisers announced it will permanently close its ammonia plant at the Billingham Complex, farmers are worried about fertiliser availability in the future.

National Farmers' Union deputy president Tom Bradshaw - who farms near Colchester - described the Billingham announcement as "concerning". 

"Availability of fertiliser is a crucial element of domestic food security and relying on importing ammonia from global markets exposes British fertiliser production to possible long-term risks," he warned.

Martin Lines, chief executive of NFFN, believes farmers can cut fertiliser use, and pointed out that it was a "major source" of river pollution in the UK. 

He was not surprised yields didn't follow fertiliser use in 2022 - and felt lower use would bring benefits.

"We know that a lot of fertiliser applied to fields in the UK is not taken up by the crop, and instead, gets washed into rivers and streams," he said.

"Price rises in 2022 were a real shock for many farmers, but one upside could hopefully be a permanent reduction in fertiliser use.”

David Lord, an arable farmer based at Earl’s Hall Farm, said he maintained the same yields while cutting his inputs - and saw his net profit rise 30% - after a major rethink about how to farm.

Using various management techniques to build soil health he has cut the use of nitrogen fertiliser, herbicides and fungicides by 30%.

"I farm over 750 hectares of land near Clacton-on-Sea on the Tendring Peninsula with my family," he said.

"We’ve thought long and hard about the best direction to take, and for us, it’s been to pursue a regenerative path.

"We’ve tackled issues of herbicide-resistant blackgrass by moving towards a spring crop followed by cover crops in the autumn and winter. We decreased cultivations to reduce our weed burden and moved to no-till where feasible."

He also cut the farm's most costly and carbon-intensive inputs - such as artificial fertilisers - by targeting their use based on field mapping and nutrient testing so that each crop gets precisely what it needs and no more.

The farm is also looking at the possibility of reincorporating livestock into the system to reduce reliance on artificial inputs even further.
 East Anglian Daily Times: