Rules which came into force on 1 January for farmers in the first batch of Nitrate Vulnerable Zones will be less onerous for arable-only farmers than those with livestock.

But with Single Farm Payments at risk if the regulations are ignored, it’s certainly worth getting to grips with them.

That view, from Hertfordshire farmer Bob Fiddaman, emerged during recent discussions with Yara’s Ian Matts, who has produced a five-point plan to help farmers comply with the rules and pass NVZ inspections.

“My concern is that there’s a minimum deduction in the SFP for failing, and it could be up to 10% for serious breaches of the rules,” said Mr Fiddaman, who runs 520ha (1285 acres) in a partnership at Wood Farm on the outskirts of Hemel Hempstead.

The NVZ rules are part of the Action Programme designed to ensure the UK meets its obligations under the EU Nitrates Directive of 1991. “They’re now a statutory management requirement.”

Not having had livestock on the farm since the mid-1990s and only rarely importing organic manures Mr Fiddaman can, for now at least, ignore three sections* of the Yara plan, acknowledged Mr Matts.

However, in examining the farm’s crop husbandry and record-keeping it became apparent that there were a few aspects that merited attention to satisfy visiting Environment Agency inspectors who may arrive unannounced following public complaint or a breach of the closed period for N fertiliser applications.

“Fortunately I’d already used the NFU’s risk management service,” said Mr Fiddaman. “So when I had a visit from a local EA inspector last year I was able to show I met all their requirements at the time.”

A recent Momenta NVZ workshop was particularly helpful in highlighting the complexities of the new rules, especially for livestock farmers, he added. But it wasn’t until meeting Mr Matts that he became fully aware of all the ramifications under two Yara plan sections – namely planning nitrogen use and the Nmax limit.

Mr Fiddaman stressed that economics as much as the environment determines his use of nitrogen. He relies on information from two merchant agronomists and TAG to direct his applications, and recently introduced a new Vicon Rotoflow spreader, with as yet unused GPS potential, to make them more accurately on the hilly land.

“A lot of it’s also down to experience and intuition. I came to this farm when I left Wye College in 1968.” He remains unconvinced of the value of soil mineral N testing, so the RB209 field assessment method taking into account soil type, previous cropping and fertilising and winter rainfall remains his basic guide.

The rotation on the mainly clay with flints over chalk is two wheats followed by breaks of oilseed rape, beans or peas, the first wheat usually being for seed and the second for bread-making.

His record-keeping, based on field notebook information transferred periodically to Farmplan’s Gatekeeper software, is fully acceptable under the rules – provided the recording is done within a week of each N application, Mr Matts believes.

“Up to now we’ve tended to do it at the end of each busy period,” admitted Mr Fiddaman.

However, justifying any extra N fertiliser beyond the Nmax limit to maximise the chances of his second slot Cordiale, and particularly Solstice reaching 13% protein, could prove more tricky.

To do so beyond the 260kg/ha acceptable for wheat being grown on a milling contract requires grain nitrogen records over several seasons, explained Mr Matts.

Such records were not immediately available, Mr Fiddaman realised. “I should be able to get them from our merchant – the North Herts Farmers co-op. But it’s extra information I’m going to have to think about keeping in future.”

Shortage of such information, and in some cases lack of any records, is the most likely area where arable farmers are most at risk of not complying with the NVZ rules, Mr Matts believes. “A lot of people simply may not have the records required.”

Another surprise to Mr Fiddaman was that any fertiliser nitrogen applied to boost oilseed rape growth in the autumn must be counted as part of the whole N under the Nmax limit of 250kg/ha, but whether nitrogen was applied in the autumn or not it did not affect the spring Nmax of 220kg/ha. “I hadn’t twigged that,” he said.

Overall there was clearly an element of overlap with ACCS requirements, he noted. “To be accepted for ACCS we need evidence to show that what we’re doing is OK.

“But today’s meeting has made me realise that I’ve got to think more about what I’m doing. We do need to prove that we’re professionals.”

*Storage of organic manures, livestock manure N farm limit and organic manure risk map.