Nutrient Management Planning
(Regs 6 & 7)
Farmers will be tasked with calculating the required amounts of nitrogen for each crop, including grassland. Using a workbook, a plan must be produced for spreading nitrogen fertiliser each year. This Nutrient Management Plan (NMP) must provide the following information:
- a field reference
- area of the field
- type of crop & sowing date
- soil type
- previous crop
- the soil nitrogen supply and the method used to establish this figure
- the anticipated month the crop will be planted
- the anticipated yield (if arable)
- the optimum amount of nitrogen that should be spread on the crop taking into account SNS
- area on which the organic manure will be spread
- amount of manure to be spread
- planned date for spreading (month)
- type of organic manure
- total Nitrogen content in organic manure and how much is available to the crop (Reg 9)
- amount of manufactured fertiliser required
- total nitrogen spread on a holding
Risk maps
(Reg 11)
- risk maps need to show each field, its area in hectares; and all surface waters
- any boreholes, springs or wells on the holding or within 50 metres of the holding boundary
- areas with sandy or shallow soils
- land with an incline greater than 12°
- land within 10 metres of surface waters; land drains (6m if using precision equipment)
- land within 50 metres of a borehole, spring or well
- sites suitable for temporary field heaps
- land that has a low run-off risk
Livestock manure limits
(Regs 4,5 & 10)
Farmers will be required to limit the total amount of livestock manure applied to areas of the farm identified as spreadable areas, to the following limits:
- Total Nitrogen from manure (animal or spreading) on the holding must not exceed 170 kg/ha. Delayed until April 2023
- No area may exceed 250kg Nitrogen/ha from organic manure.
The total amount of Nitrogen from manufactured fertiliser and that available from organic manure must not exceed limits set out for individual crops. Some examples of the more commonly grown crops are listed below. Some extra fertiliser allowances are available for some crops grown under certain conditions, e.g. An additional 40 kg Nitrogen per hectare is permitted for grass that is cut at least three times in a year.
Forage maize 150 kg N/ha
Grass 300 kg N/ha
Potatoes 270 kg N/ha
Autumn or early winter sown wheat 220 kg N/ha
Further measures
- slurry spreading must be carried out using spreading equipment with a trajectory which is below 4 metres from the ground (Reg 15)
- Temporary field sites for manure must not be located on waterlogged ground, within 50m of a borehole, spring or well or within 10m of surface water. It cannot be located in the same location for more than 12 months or be located in the same place as a previous site within two years. Further rules on topsoil use and the positioning of heaps according to the risk maps (Reg 27)
- Recording of holding size (Reg 33)
- Records must be kept for the amount of manure produced by the number of stock during the storage period. First time introductions of animals must be recorded within one month and storage capacity changes must be recorded within one week (Reg 34)
- Before 30 April, records of the number of housed animals during the previous storage period must be completed (Reg 35)
- Record the amount of available nitrogen in manure produced by animals (Reg 9); number and category of animals on holding and the number of days spent by each animal on the holding before 30 April every year (Reg 36)
- Record the area, quantity, dates, method of spreading, total N content, crop availability of organic manure within one week of spreading (Reg 40)
- Record dates of manufactured fertiliser spreading and amounts of N spread within one week of spreading unless 80% of farm is grassland, and N from organic manure is less than 100kg/ha and total N from manufactured fertiliser is less than 90kg/ha (Reg 40)
- When bringing or taking livestock manure off the holding, records must be made on the type, amount, date, N content and name and address of the buyer/recipient (Reg 37)
- A person who has applied N fertiliser must record the yield of the arable crop within one week of harvest. Before 30 April, the farmer must record how the grassland was managed in the previous year (Reg 41)
Useful resources
In order to help farmers understand and comply with the new regulations, the Welsh Government has published numerous guidance documents on its website:
https://gov.wales/farm-pollution
- Guidance for farmers and land managers
- Frequently asked questions
- Farm workbook
- Summary of measures and timeline
- Frequently asked questions regarding tenanted land
The SMR 1 - Water Protection - Factsheet and Verifiable Standards have also been updated.
The FUW wishes to remind members that they can receive 10% off consultancy fees with Kebek - Rural Environmental Services, who can be contacted via
The FUW will maintain to keep members informed of any developments in regard to changes or further guidance of these regulations. We will also be responding to the consultation on the whole farm nitrogen application limit and we urge all members to do the same.