The Earl of Leicester (Con)

My Lords, I mentioned varying the 60% or 80% rate of nitrogen application but, sadly, it is not as easy as that. No simple rule of thumb can be followed by all farmers since geography, soil type and climatic conditions such as lack of rainfall, excess rainfall, rain at the wrong time, lack of sun and heat, and the timing of nitrogen application all play their part to vary yield. This is where the guesswork comes in. If we could predict the weather months out, huge amounts of nitrogen could be saved. Generally, in drier conditions a farmer would, could or should apply 70% of what might be recommended, whereas nitrogen use efficiency or NUE—here I glance nervously at my friend, the professor and noble Lord, Lord Krebs, who took issue with this term, despite it being commonly used by farmers and agronomists—is poor in wet weather. At best, a farmer applying less nitrogen in optimum conditions might achieve NUE of 80% to 90% on potatoes, with the rest of the nitrogen, up to 20%, either lost to the atmosphere or leached to rivers. Some would hopefully be retained in the soil. This progressive approach requires thought, but it comes with more risk. Many farmers are putting too much nitrogen on their crop and therefore are achieving only 50% to 60% NUE, with 50% of the nitrogen being lost. It is here that the Government could gain some big wins on nitrogen usage reduction by ensuring well-tailored training for farmers and perhaps a few pertinent questions addressed to ag-chem companies and their agronomists—here I glance nervously at my noble friend Lord Fuller—to demonstrate that less can mean more. To carry on what the noble Viscount, Lord Hanworth, mentioned, 80% of our potato crops follow cover or catch crops which, as he explained, convert nitrogen from the atmosphere into the soil. This too has therefore significantly reduced the amount of artificial nitrogen needed. The noble Viscount also mentioned wide rotations and not having a monoculture of wheat year after year. Of course, a wide six-course rotation makes a huge difference. I take issue with the noble Viscount saying that these innovations first came in the Netherlands. If I can be a little immodest, my four-greats grandfather, Coke of Norfolk, along with Turnip Townshend, were very much involved in the agricultural revolution in Britain. The agrarian revolution of course facilitated the Industrial Revolution, which also happened first in Britain. Although the Dutch are jolly good at what they do, I take issue with the noble Viscount; maybe I will raise it with him afterwards and we can discuss where the agricultural revolution started. Anyway, many agricultural research institutes, such as the John Innes Centre in my part of the world, Rothamsted Research and indeed UEA, have departments monitoring these reductions in nitrogen use without a deleterious effect to crop yields. The Government need to help to promulgate these well-researched messages from such august institutions across to the farming industry. Many progressive farmers are already taking advantage of financial savings achieved by reduced inputs and are proud of their resultant improved environmental credentials. Farm shows such as Groundswell, a regenerative farming conference started by the Cherry family in Hertfordshire, are championing these rediscovered wisdoms and, encouragingly, grow in size each year at the expense of more conventional shows. While there are undoubtedly rogue farmers who need enforcement action taken against them, the vast majority are hard-working, honest people, many of them, in current economic and legislative conditions, grinding out a living. In my experience in life it is the carrot, not the stick, that works more effectively in a democracy such as ours, so I ask the Minister to advocate that training be prioritised rather than enforcement.