Farmers in England are reminded of the spreading restrictions on urea fertilisers beyond 1 April 2025 and applying protected urea, instead of untreated urea or ammonium nitrate, will offer both environmental and economic advantages.

            The rules, introduced in April 2024 and audited through the Red Tractor assurance scheme, aim to reduce ammonia emissions from urea by restricting its application window. Only urea fertiliser treated with a urease inhibitor can be spread beyond 1^st April. Even though farmers may see this as greater restrictions, applying a protected urea can offer further benefits that offset the burden of compliance.

            Protected urea may cost on average 10% more than unprotected urea, but it is proven to significantly lower ammonia losses by upwards of 70% in comparison. DEFRA’s NT26 research project showed an average loss of nitrogen as ammonia from unprotected urea at 22% for arable crops and 27% for grassland. By reducing these ammonia losses by 70% or more, there is a positive economic return on the cost of protected urea of 2:1 on arable crops at today’s prices.

Multiple trials have shown protected urea offers equivalent yields to ammonium nitrate (AN) and has a lower cost per unit of N, so users can spread the same amount of nitrogen with less bags and refills.  Using protected urea means more of the fertiliser applied remains available to plant, rather than being lost to the environment. Tom Wells, nutrition agronomist at Origin Soil Nutrition, says it offers a viable option for several reasons.

“Unprotected urea can be considered an agronomic and economic substitute for AN, with trials showing that protected urea consistently matches AN’s yield responses and has the potential to be cheaper per unit cost of nitrogen due to a higher N content in each bag. Furthermore, Origin’s OEN protected urea can be blended with phosphates, without deterioration, and farmers have the option to use this in NPK blends. It also doesn’t have the regulatory storage challenges of AN.”