Amendment of the Nitrate Regulation is beneficial for farmers

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The National Chamber of Agriculture has initiated the amendment of the 59/2008. (IV.29.) FVM Regulation (nitrate regulation) on several occasions, as the regulation contained an element that was unfavorable in several points and also caused a competitive disadvantage for Hungarian farmers. As a result, the regulation was first amended in the fall of 2021, allowing for the extension of the winter fertilization period. The NAK also indicated that the maximum application doses included in Annex 3 to the regulation are low. In many cases, in areas with good agricultural potential and sensitive to nitrates, the nitrogen uptake of plants would be much higher than the previously permitted maximum values. This means that the genetic potential of plants cannot be fully exploited while adhering to the values set out in the legislation. In order to prove this, the Ministry of Agriculture – with the support of the National Chamber of Agriculture – set up a small-plot long-term experiment at the Soil Science Institute of the Agricultural Research Centre between 2018 and 2023 at four locations, and examined the risk of applying different doses of nitrogen active ingredients in terms of leaching at eighty locations/fields at the farm level.

For the field trials, NAK and KITE provided entrepreneurial farmers who were able and willing to participate in the 4-5-year trial

The results of the trials showed that it is advisable to increase the maximum nitrogen active ingredient values that can be applied to winter wheat, corn, sorghum, sunflower, rapeseed, sugar beet, spring barley, winter barley, and silage corn on soils with poor, medium, and good nitrogen supply in order to absorb larger amounts of nitrogen. Accordingly, it became justified to amend Annex 3 of Decree 59/2008. (IV. 29.) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The new regulation entered into force on July 30. Thanks to the amendment to the decree, the so-called The amount of excess nitrogen that can be applied to prevent the pentosan effect does not have to be included in the maximum amount of nitrogen that can be applied to plants, which is set differently for each growing location in Annex 3 of the Nitrates Regulation. In addition, in the case of nitrogen applied after harvest to promote the decomposition of stem residues, farmers do not have to plan sowing within 15 days. It is important that the higher doses allowed by the regulation are not advisable for everyone and in all areas, as when using fertilizers, attention must be paid to your own area and techniques, keeping profitability in mind. Let’s manage nutrients wisely.

NAK