Call to cut the use of nitrogen

And research is required to check prima-facie evidence that nitrogen fixed by legumes is less likely to release polluting compounds into the wider environment, the association added, in a report designed to capitalise on growing concerns about the role of artificial N in global warming.

The research call has been backed by the NFU, in a rare example of agreement between the two organisations.

Just Say N2O, a Soil Association report presented at a House of Commons meeting earlier this month, is an argument for moving to biological fixing of N, as is standard in organic farming. The title is a pun on the chemical abbreviation for nitrous oxide, a pollutant formed by the reaction of nitrogen and water in the soil.

The report says: “Research published in the journal Science found nutrient input including nitrogen in organic systems to be 34-51 per cent lower than in non-organic systems, whereas mean crop yield was only 20 per cent lower over a period of 21 years.”

It adds: “It is argued by some that biologically-fixed and manufactured nitrogen are indistinguishable and equally become potential sources for N2O emissions and other nitrogen losses.

However, there is now evidence that farming systems using these different types do function differently in terms of nitrogen retention and loss.”

The report says this is a “strikingly under-researched area” and calls on the British government to fund further investigation urgently.

The NFU gave the Soil Association report some support by picking up a sympathetic commentary on it by a mainstream agricultural consultant, Ian Richards, and posting it on the website Tried & Tested, a nutrient management discussion board supported by NFU, CLA, FWAG, LEAF and AIC.

Dr Richards said he agreed more research should be conducted into the uses of legumes.

He said: “There is much to agree with in this report and the fundamental objective – making best use of nutrients and avoiding losses to the wider environment – we can all sign up to.”

It has been suggested that GM crops could be designed to take on the attributes of peas and beans, which grab nitrogen from the atmosphere and store it around their roots.

But the Soil Association says: “It is unlikely that such developments, even if technically feasible, would be available in the foreseeable future.”

Scientific advisers to both the UN and the European Union have suggested in recent years that the true cost of artificial N, in environmental damage, may outweigh the value of the extra food it delivers.

And the UK government’s scientific adviser, Sir John Beddington, acknowledged the concern in his much-quoted Foresight Report on Food & Farming, published in January 2011.

When the farming revolution started, it was fuelled by shiploads of bird guano and saltpetre from South America.

But in 1908, two German scientists, Fritz Haber and Karl Bosch, found a way to extract nitrogen from the atmosphere in large quantities, by combining it with hydrogen to make ammonia.

That made it possible to keep food production ahead of population growth.

More grants are on offer

Round two of a grant scheme intended to make agriculture greener has been announced.

The Farming and Forestry Improvement Scheme awards grants from £2,500 to £25,000 for between 15 per cent and 50 per cent of investment in better use of resources.

Business advisers George F White say Global Positioning Systems and livestock handling systems topped the charts in the first round.

For more guidance, see www.rdpenetwork.defra.gov.uk/ Applications accepted from May 22.