project - Research and innovation
A tool to help UK farmers comply with Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZ) legal requirements
A tool to help UK farmers comply with Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZ) legal requirements
Objectives
NA
Objectives
Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs) are areas, designated by the UK government, considered to be under high risk of water and/or soil pollution due to an excess of Nitrates. On these zones (covering 58% of UK), the main sources of Nitrates are livestock and agriculture. If a plot lies within a NVZ area, the farmer should follow a series of measures on fertilizer application to minimise the risk of nitrates polluting ground or surface water. Those who do not comply can be fined by the Government. (see additional information field)
Activities
(see additional information field)
Additional information
The programme PLANET (Planning Land Applications of Nutrients for Efficiency and the environment) was developed to assist farmers in complying with NVZ legal requirements. It is a free tool for farmers and advisers in England, Wales and Scotland.
It is divided into six modules, carrying out different calculations, record keeping and reporting functions. To get the most from the tool, farmers will need to keep records of the sources of nutrients in the farm and fertilisers applied to the fields. The main focus will be on the follow up of volumes of slurry, dirty water, poultry layer manure, poultry litter and other solid manure generated on a farm. With these records, the tool estimates the quantities of nutrients (Nitrogen and others) produced by the farm. Then, knowing where the farm and plots are located, it can calculate the amount of fertiliser to be applied on each parcel, to comply with the NZV regulations. The tool also calculates the minimum slurry and poultry manure storage requirements, enables farmers to prepare fertilisers’ application calendars or add soil analysis results in order to improve calculations. Video-tutorials are available to help users to understand the workflow of the program.
Additional information: http://www.planet4farmers.co.uk/Content.aspx?name=PLANET
Video tutorials: http://www.planet4farmers.co.uk/Content.aspx?name=Tutorials
Project details
- Main funding source
- Other public (national, regional) research funds
- Project acronym
- PLANET