Compared to what was originally proposed in May 2025, the latest Nutrients Action Programme (NAP) consultation released by DAERA is a good outcome for farmers and the wider agri-food industry.

Analysis produced by AgriSearch suggested compliance with those 2025 proposals would have had a serious economic impact, potentially to the tune of over £1.5bn each year. Most of that was driven by plans to limit the phosphorus (P) surplus on farms to 8kg/ha/yr by 2029 – to achieve that, our most productive farms would either have had to dramatically cut livestock numbers and/or push other farmers off land.

A workable solution is now proposed around P limits (see page 6), although that will inevitably come with more bureaucracy for farmers.

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Report

The basis for the consultation is the final report produced by the group of farming leaders, environmentalists, food processors and government appointed by Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir.

That Task and Finish Group, along with a number of sub-groups, have met over 60 times since last October.

The consultation runs for 10 weeks to 11.59pm on Monday 7 September and after that Minister Muir will consider responses before seeking agreement from the Stormont Agriculture Committee and his colleagues on the NI Executive. In theory, the proposals could therefore be amended by DAERA, although in reality, given the work done to reach a consensus, that looks extremely unlikely.

Looking ahead, two key things need to happen. The first is that we need to see the planning system unlocked by government, allowing farmers to invest in technology that delivers better environmental outcomes and young people starting out in their careers, to invest in their farms.

The second is we need all farmers to comply with the new rules and work to ensure we leave the environment in a better place than we found it. The response from government to non-compliance will be ever tighter rules on future generations – we all have a responsibility to avoid that.