Any farmers who suspect that fertiliser sold to them falls below the required standards should return it to their merchant to follow the issue up with the product’s manufacturer, the Department of Agriculture has advised.

The advice follows the Department’s 2023 fertiliser inspection programme’s finding that 11% of all fertiliser samples collected from blenders’ facilities and tested were not up to scratch.

The Department clarified to the Irish Farmers Journal that it does not verify that fertiliser put on the market conforms to the weight stated on bags.

Chemical composition

Rather, the only compliance tests carried out for fertilisers are for the product’s chemical composition and to ensure labelling rules are met.

From the Department’s response, it does not appear that any manufacturers or blenders were issued with any fines last year for fertiliser found to fall outside of the standards laid down in Irish or EU law.

“With regards to enforcement, there are a number of measures available under legislation in response to breaches of fertiliser tolerance regulations,” a spokesperson said.

“In this regard, compliance notices are issued in cases of out-of-tolerance findings and the Department also engages directly with the company to understand the underlying reason for the non-compliance in order to support future compliance.”

The Department stated that no single fertiliser blend flagged up as being more likely to breach required standards in 2023’s tests.