The final date for applying chemical nitrogen and phosphorus fertiliser is 14 September, with the prohibited application period commencing on 15 September 2025. The 14 September date is also the last day for farmers to apply any remaining stocks of unprotected urea in granular form. Once the prohibited application period begins, farmers will be required to declare closing stocks of fertiliser.
It is a legal requirement, under SI 378 of 2023, to declare closing stocks. This includes farmers that have no fertiliser on hand and in such instances a ‘nil’ declaration must be submitted. The final date for declaring this information is likely to be 15 October 2025.
The facility for declaring closing stocks on the National Fertiliser Database is not available yet, but will be in the coming days. The declaration must be submitted via agfood.ie, ie no paper applications can be submitted. Agents/advisers approved to act on a farmer’s behalf can also complete the submission.
Declaring closing stocks of fertiliser, including lime, is also vital for farmers who selected the Eco Scheme measure agricultural practice 3 (AP3), limiting chemical fertiliser. Farmers who do not complete a declaration will not have their payment processed until they submit closing stocks.
Completing the declaration
Once the facility opens making a declaration is relatively straightforward as follows:
Log on to your agfood account.Scroll down to national fertiliser database.Click on the three dots under the word ‘actions’ and ‘closing stocks’. On the next webpage tick the relevant box. If declaring no stocks a pop up box will appear to confirm. If declaring a closing stock then you will be brought through to a facility to select the fertiliser type and the volume of fertiliser on hand. N and P statements
The Department issued correspondence this week to inform farmers and advisers that interim bovine nitrogen and phosphorus statements have been published online on a farmer’s agfood.ie account for the period 1 January to 31 July 2025.
The Department is advising all farmers to check their interim figures, stating that the revised bovine excretion rates introduced in February are now applicable and “will result in significant changes for some farmers”.
The Department adds that appropriate adjustments have also been applied for dairy farmers that have adopted to manage crude protein in concentrates fed to their dairy cows. It adds that “a small minority of dairy farmers who have not confirmed their herd’s dairy cow band for 2025 have been defaulted to the highest band of 106kg N/cow. As per previous communication from the Department to these farmers, in the event that the highest band is not appropriate, they should confirm the correct band as appropriate to their herd”.
The final date for applying chemical nitrogen and phosphorus fertiliser is 14 September, with the prohibited application period commencing on 15 September 2025. The 14 September date is also the last day for farmers to apply any remaining stocks of unprotected urea in granular form. Once the prohibited application period begins, farmers will be required to declare closing stocks of fertiliser.
It is a legal requirement, under SI 378 of 2023, to declare closing stocks. This includes farmers that have no fertiliser on hand and in such instances a ‘nil’ declaration must be submitted. The final date for declaring this information is likely to be 15 October 2025.
The facility for declaring closing stocks on the National Fertiliser Database is not available yet, but will be in the coming days. The declaration must be submitted via agfood.ie, ie no paper applications can be submitted. Agents/advisers approved to act on a farmer’s behalf can also complete the submission.
Declaring closing stocks of fertiliser, including lime, is also vital for farmers who selected the Eco Scheme measure agricultural practice 3 (AP3), limiting chemical fertiliser. Farmers who do not complete a declaration will not have their payment processed until they submit closing stocks.
Completing the declaration
Once the facility opens making a declaration is relatively straightforward as follows:
Log on to your agfood account.Scroll down to national fertiliser database.Click on the three dots under the word ‘actions’ and ‘closing stocks’. On the next webpage tick the relevant box. If declaring no stocks a pop up box will appear to confirm. If declaring a closing stock then you will be brought through to a facility to select the fertiliser type and the volume of fertiliser on hand. N and P statements
The Department issued correspondence this week to inform farmers and advisers that interim bovine nitrogen and phosphorus statements have been published online on a farmer’s agfood.ie account for the period 1 January to 31 July 2025.
The Department is advising all farmers to check their interim figures, stating that the revised bovine excretion rates introduced in February are now applicable and “will result in significant changes for some farmers”.
The Department adds that appropriate adjustments have also been applied for dairy farmers that have adopted to manage crude protein in concentrates fed to their dairy cows. It adds that “a small minority of dairy farmers who have not confirmed their herd’s dairy cow band for 2025 have been defaulted to the highest band of 106kg N/cow. As per previous communication from the Department to these farmers, in the event that the highest band is not appropriate, they should confirm the correct band as appropriate to their herd”.
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