KindHarvest summary: At the 2022 Groundswell event, arable farmer and Nature Friendly Farming Network chair Martin Lines argued that farming needs to prepare for a future with far less fossil-fuel-based nitrogen. He described a five-year programme on his own farm to remove those fertilisers while maintaining crop performance.
Building fertility into the rotation
Lines is using clover and other legumes in cover crops to fix nitrogen, and has brought sheep into what had been an arable-only system, with cattle also planned. Organic manures applied over several years contribute nutrients and organic matter, although their release does not always match crop demand.
Measure before applying
Spring soil sampling is being used to locate available nitrogen through the soil profile. Satellite imagery, variable-rate application, leaf testing and tissue analysis then help match any added nutrition to crop need. Lines reported that half of his wheat fields had received no nitrogen that season, with lower disease and weed pressure in the zero-nitrogen areas.
The practical questions
Reducing nitrogen also raises questions about milling specifications and crop appearance. Paler crops did not necessarily have fewer ears, and the discussion challenged whether breadmaking systems should continue to demand high grain-protein targets that drive extra nitrogen use. The results described are farm observations within an active transition, so yield, protein and nutrient balances still need to be followed over several seasons.
Related KindHarvest reading
See also Nature-based farming can cut fertiliser use, finds trial for evidence from long-running field experiments.
Source and credit
This KindHarvest Team research brief is based on reporting by Mike Abram for Farmers Weekly, published 27 June 2022. Read the full Farmers Weekly article.