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Phosphate use per ha - Derogation farms

Higher phosphate application in 2020 and 2021
07/09/2023

Since 2015, phosphate application on farms in the derogation monitoring network has come almost entirely from livestock manure, while in previous years about 3 kg/ha also came from inorganic phosphate-containing fertilisers. Total phosphate application shows a downward trend in the period 2006-2021.

Phosphate application increased in 2020 and 2021
The total phosphate application for all farms in the derogation monitoring network shows a downward trend in the period 2006-2021 (-22%), from an average of 100 kg/ha in 2006 to 78 kg/ha in 2021. This trend is visible in all regions. However, the total phosphate application has increased somewhat in the last two years: in 2019 and 2020, 72 and 74 kg phosphate per hectare were applied respectively, especially because of a higher phosphate application from organic manure. The decreasing trend in the total phosphate application over the whole period 2006-2021 is the result of a decrease in permissible phosphate application per hectare by lowering the phosphate application standards and because the phosphate application standards depend, since 2010, on the phosphate status of the soil (phosphate differentiation). In the 2009-2014 period, for farms in the derogation monitoring network, the phosphate application consisted on average for 95-97% of livestock manure. In 2006 this share was on average still at 88%. This was caused by a decrease in the use of inorganic phosphate-containing fertilisers from 11 kg/ha in 2006 to approximately 3 kg/ha from 2009. Since 15 May 2014, inorganic phosphate-containing fertilisers can no longer be used on derogation farms. The share of phosphate application from livestock manure has therefore increased further to an average of 99% from 2015 to 2020. In 2021 it was 98%. Phosphate application from other organic manure is very limited on farms in the derogation monitoring network. In most years it is half a kg/ha or less, although an increase took place in 2021 to an average of 1.1 kg/ha.

The difference between phosphate use and phosphate application capacity fluctuates
The average phosphate application standard on farms in the derogation monitoring network decreased from 108 kg/ha in 2006 to about 84 kg/ha from 2015. As a result, the difference between the phosphate application standard and the phosphate fertilisation decreased from 8 kg/ha in 2006 to around 4 kg/ha in the period 2010 to 2014. Since 2015, the difference between the phosphate application standard and the phosphate fertilisation has increased again to 13 kg/ha in 2019. In 2020 and 2021, the difference decreased again to 9 and 6 kg/ha respectively as a result of an increasing use of phosphate from livestock manure and other organic manure. The increased use of phosphate from livestock manure in 2021 may be related to the quality of the roughage extracted in 2021 with a relatively low crude protein content and a higher phosphorus content. The excretion per animal in 2021 in kg nitrogen was lower and in kg phosphate higher compared to the previous year.




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