A new digital tool is being developed to help farmers manage the use of nutrients on their farm.

The new Farm Sustainability Tool for Nutrients (FaST) tool will be free to use for farmers and will automatically provide information on the parcels of land selected, including crops, stock numbers and the amount of manure generated by them.

Data

Additional data will also be available for nutrient management, such as data on soil, the proximity of protected areas and legal limits on the use of nutrients.

The developers state that it will bring environmental benefits, such as reducing nutrient leakage in ground water and rivers, as well as positively contributing to soil quality and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Digital

The tool will be accessible via mobile phones, PCs or tablets and the user can accept or edit the data provided.

The tool will be accessible via mobile phones, PCs or tablets.

From this, the tool will propose a nutrient management plan, which will give customised recommendations on crop fertilisation for the farm selected.

The tool will lead to more efficient record keeping, as it should eliminate the need for manual introduction of the same data for different administration bodies.

Moreover, due to its wide-scale use, the tool can serve as a basis for additional digital services provided by the market or public administrations, further facilitating the digitalisation of the management of CAP.

Common Agricultural Policy 2021-2027

As part of the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) proposals for 2021-2027, FaST) proposed in the framework of the Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAECs), aims to facilitate a sustainable use of fertilisers for all farmers in the EU while boosting the digitisation of the agricultural sector.

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