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Nitrogen farm surplus per ha - Derogation farms

Nitrogen farm surplus fell sharply in 2021
07/09/2023

The nitrogen farm surplus on farms in the derogation monitoring network has decreased sharply to 153 kg/ha in 2021. Never before in the period since 2006 has the nitrogen farm surplus on farms in the derogation monitoring network been so low. Compared to 2020, the nitrogen added per hectare decreased by 22 kg per hectare, while the nitrogen removal actually increased by 8 kg per hectare.

Low nitrogen farm surplus in 2021
The average nitrogen farm surplus on farms in the derogation monitoring network decreased in 2021 to 153 kg/ha. In 2020, the average nitrogen farm surplus was still 182 kg/ha. Never before in the period since 2006 has the nitrogen farm surplus been so low. Before the year 2021, the lowest realised nitrogen farm surplus was on average 161 kg/ha and that was in 2014. In 2018, the nitrogen farm surplus was relatively high with 195 kg/ha. The weather conditions, for example very dry weather in 2018 in almost all of the Netherlands and very favourable growing conditions in 2021, seem to have influenced these fluctuations. In 2021, the nitrogen farm surplus in the Clay region was the highest with 174 kg/ha, followed by the Peat region with 155 kg/ha, the Sand-230 region with 143 kg/ha and the Sand-250 region with 131 kg/ha. The Loess region had the lowest nitrogen farm surplus in 2021 with 129 kg/ha.



Nitrogen added via feed and fertiliser increased in 2020 
In 2021, the average nitrogen added per hectare was 336 kg/ha. That is lower than the nitrogen added in 2020 of 358 kg/ha, and also lower than the long-term average of 348 kg/ha. The largest nitrogen added items on the farms in the derogation monitoring network are feed and fertiliser. The nitrogen removal via feed decreased by 14 kg/ha in 2021 compared to 2020 to 198 kg/ha. The nitrogen added from inorganic fertilisers decreased in 2021 by 10 kg/ha compared to the previous year to 121 kg. The contribution of organic manure, animals and plant products to the total nitrogen added was of limited importance in all years. In 2021, this involved a total of 18 kg/ha. The nitrogen added via feed was by far the highest in 2021 in the Sand-230 region with 247 kg/ha, followed at a distance by the Peat region with 184 kg/ha. The Sand-230 region was in 2021 also the most intensive in terms of milk production per hectare. In the Sand-250 region, the nitrogen added via feed was the lowest with 161 kg/ha. The nitrogen added via fertiliser was in 2021 by far the highest in the Clay region with 143 kg/ha and lowest in the Sand-250 region with 102 kg/ha. The total nitrogen added in 2021 was highest in the Sand-230 region with 379 kg/ha, followed by the Clay region (339 kg/ha), the Peat region (313 kg/ha), the Loess region (305 kg/ha) and the Sand-250 region (278 kg/ha).



Nitrogen removal increased in 2021
Over the entire period 2006-2021, the total nitrogen removal from farms in the derogation monitoring network shows an increasing trend. Especially after 2013 (143 kg nitrogen removal per hectare) there was a sharp increase to 191 and 197 kg/ha in 2016 and 2017 respectively. In the following years, the total nitrogen removal was lower again with 171, 176 and 175 kg/ha respectively in 2018, 2019 and 2020. In 2021, the total nitrogen removal increased towards 183 kg/ha and was therefore above the long-term average of 169 kg/ha. The increase in total nitrogen removal is the result of a significantly higher output via plant products (this concerns the construction and potential sale of roughage) as a result of high grassland yields. This removal amounts to 29 kg/ha and is therefore higher than in the previous three years. At that time, the removal via vegetable products was relatively low due to less favourable weather conditions in parts of the country and varied from 10 to 18 kg/ha.
The total nitrogen removal in 2021 was highest in the Sand-230 region with 235 kg/ha, followed by the Loess region (176 kg/ha), the Clay region (165 kg/ha) and the Peat region (158 kg/ha). Nitrogen removal was lowest in the Sand-250 region with 147 kg/ha.




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Marga Hoogeveen
+3170-3358325
 

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