Nutrient management
Published 12 June 2025
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2025
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Effective nutrient management provides sufficient nutrients to meet the growth requirements of crops and grassland whilst managing environmental impacts; it can help minimise GHG emissions, reduce the incidence of diffuse water pollution and increase productivity by reducing input costs. Here we consider how farmers manage the application of fertilisers and manures, the use of nutrient management plans and how nutrient requirements are calculated and monitored.
Nutrient Management Plans
Figure 1 Proportion of holdings with a nutrient management plan
| Year | Holdings with a nutrient management plan | Holdings without a nutrient management plan | Not applicable | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 56% | 32% | 12% | 100% |
| 2022 | 54% | 33% | 13% | 100% |
| 2023 | 56% | 31% | 13% | 100% |
| 2024 | 57% | 33% | 10% | 100% |
| 2025 | 64% | 24% | 12% | 100% |
Notes:
- The sum of the components may not equal 100% due to rounding.
In 2025, 64% of farmers had a nutrient management plan. This is an increase compared to 2024 (Figure 1) and the highest seen since 2011 when this survey began. Of those with a plan, 19% created it themselves without professional help, a further 33% created their plan with professional advice and the remaining 47% had the plan created for them by a contractor or adviser (Figure 2).
Figure 2 Proportion of holdings who either created the plan themselves or used advisers/professional advice
| Year | Self produced plan without professional advice | Self produced plan with professional advice | Plan produced by an adviser or contractor | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 28% | 37% | 35% | 100% |
| 2022 | 31% | 39% | 30% | 100% |
| 2023 | 28% | 36% | 36% | 100% |
| 2024 | 28% | 33% | 39% | 100% |
| 2025 | 19% | 33% | 47% | 100% |
Notes:
- The sum of the components may not equal 100% due to rounding.
Those holdings with a nutrient management plan were asked how their nutrient management plans were funded and whether this led to any changes. In 2025, 52% said their nutrient management plan was self-funded. A further 45% had funded their plan using the Sustainable Farming Incentive, 2% used another agri-environment scheme and the remainder relied on other funding sources.
Of those that received funding, 29% said this had resulted in them updating their plan more frequently and 50% said they had a higher quality plan. Only 27% said the funding had resulted in no change.
Of those that sought professional advice when producing the plan themselves, 77% did so from fertiliser advisors or agronomists. Of those with a nutrient management plan 68% update it every year and 93% refer to it at least once a year.
PLANET, Muddy Boots, Farmade/Multicrop and Tried & Tested are established methods for creating nutrient management plans. However, a large proportion of farmers, 33% in 2025, opted to use other methods not listed on the survey form (Figure 3). Since data collection began in 2011, the ‘Nutrient Management Guide (RB209)’ has consistently been the most common source of recommendations for plans. This trend continues in 2025, with 59% of farms with a nutrient management plan using this guide.
Figure 3 Proportion of holdings using each tool to create a nutrient management plan
| Response | 2025 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Other | 33% | 30% |
| Don’t know | 31% | 28% |
| Industry plan - Tried and Tested | 14% | 13% |
| PLANET | 13% | 13% |
| Muddy Boots | 11% | 12% |
| Farmade/Multicrop | 3% | 6% |
Nutrient testing
The proportion of farmers undertaking some form of nutrient testing on soil has seen a steady increase in recent years. In 2025, 78% of farmers were regularly testing the nutrient content (indices) of soil and 80% were regularly testing the pH.
In 2025, 66% of those with a programme of soil testing said it was self-funded. A further 29% had funded the testing using the Sustainable Farming Incentive, 1% had funded the testing with another agri-environment scheme and the remainder funded in some other way.
Of those that received funding, 54% said this had resulted in testing more frequently, while 46% reported no change to testing.
In 2025, a large proportion of farms (68%) have calculated a whole farm nutrient balance for nitrogen, phosphorus or potassium. Of these, 34% of farms have calculated the balance every year, 8% every 2 years, and 25% every 3 or more years (Figure 4).
Figure 4 Proportion of holdings calculating a whole farm nutrient balance for N (nitrogen) or P (phosphorus) or K (potassium) by frequency
| Year | Every year | Every 2 years | Every 3 years or more | Never | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 30% | 8% | 23% | 39% | 100% |
| 2022 | 26% | 7% | 24% | 43% | 100% |
| 2023 | 32% | 7% | 22% | 40% | 100% |
| 2024 | 34% | 8% | 24% | 35% | 100% |
| 2025 | 34% | 8% | 25% | 32% | 100% |
Notes:
- The sum of the components may not equal 100% due to rounding.
When testing for other metals, in 2025 a significant proportion of farms (62%) reported never testing their soils for levels of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead or zinc. A further 28% had tested in some fields, 7% in every field, and the remaining 3% in one field. These proportions remained broadly consistent over the last five years.
Over the past five years, the number of farmers conducting nutrient testing on manure has steadily risen. In 2025, 37% of farmers reported no testing, a decrease from 47% in 2021. Of those who did test in 2025, 40% tested based on published tables, 20% used sampling and lab analysis and 4% sampling and on-farm testing (Figure 5).
Figure 5 Proportion of holdings testing nutrient content of manure by method
| Response | 2025 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Based on published tables | 40% | 37% |
| No testing done | 37% | 47% |
| Sampling and lab analysis | 20% | 14% |
| Sampling and on-farm testing | 4% | 3% |
Manure Management Plans
Approximately 68% of farms have a manure management plan in 2025. A large proportion of farmers (90%) with a manure management plan used Nutrient Management Guide (RB209) or the Code of Good Agricultural Practice (CoGAP) as the source of nutrient recommendations.
Soil monitoring
Soil Monitoring looks at the use of soil organic matter and whether this is being recorded. Organic matter helps to retain nutrients and water in soil. Benefits include reduced compaction and surface crusting, plus improved water infiltration into the soil.
In 2025, 59% of farmers kept track of soil organic matter on their farm, an increase from 53% in 2024. Of those not keeping track, 35% of farmers did not consider it important enough to test for. Other obstacles included difficulty interpreting results, selected by 19% of farmers and expense, selected by 24% (Figure 6).
Figure 6 Reasons preventing farmers keeping track of soil organic matter (proportion of holdings)
| Response | 2025 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Not important enough to test for | 35% | 34% |
| Other | 29% | 24% |
| Too expensive | 24% | 28% |
| Difficult to interpret results | 19% | 20% |