Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for crop growth. Without mineral fertilizers to replenish exported nutrients, soils become depleted over time, reducing yields. European agriculture has increased crop production while decreasing nitrogen fertilizer use and greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. Further improvements in nitrogen use efficiency can be achieved through efficient fertilizer products tailored to conditions and tools to optimize application rates.

1. Nitrogen use efficiency on farm
Tor Holba
Fertilizers Europe Conference 2011

2. Mineral nutrients are essential building blocks for crops
Crops absorb mineral nutrients and water from the soil
Food, Fertilizers and Natural

3. Mineral fertilizers replace nutrients that
are exported with the harvest
Losses to air
Supply of crop residues
and organic fertilizer NPK
NPK
Export of nutrients
with the harvest
N K
Mineralisation
Organic P
substance,
humus S Mg
…
Losses from soil Soil
The soil gets depleted without mineral fertilizers
Food, Fertilizers and Natural

4. Soil depletion can be observed in
long-term experiments
12
Grain yield t per ha
10
8
6
4
2
0
With N fertilizer 1 year without N long term without N
Source: own calculations based on Broadbalk long-term trial in Rothamsted/UK and annual Yara field trials (1996-2010)
Food, Fertilizers and Natural

5. On soils depleted of nutrients, crops can
not grow to their yield potential
Billion people
8
6 People nourished
48% by use of
4 mineral fertilizers
without
2 additional mineral
fertilizer
0
Today
Source: adopted from Erisman et al. (2008), Nature Geoscience without fertilizer with fertilizer
Today, nearly 50% of the world’s population
is nourished from the use of mineral fertilizers
Food, Fertilizers and Natural

6. Optimum fertilizer contributes to low
climate gas emissions
Climate gas emission (kg CO2eq/10 t grain)
12000
10000
8000
6000
CO2 release due to additional land use
4000 needed to compensate for lower yield
2000
0
no N optimum N
Intensive best practice agriculture is the way forward re
food security and environment sustainability
Food, Fertilizers and Natural

7. Contribution of Agriculture to
Climate gas emissions
Europe (EU-27) GLOBAL
Energy, Energy,
Waste, Waste,
Industry, 1%* Production of mineral
Industry,
N fertilizer Production of mineral N
etc. (90%) etc. (74%) fertilizer (0.8%)*
9% Emissions from agriculture Emissions from agriculture (14%)
Land use change for agriculture
(12% ) = ~ 6 bn t CO2)
Total: ~ 5 bn t CO2eq Total: ~ 49 bn t CO2eq
Based on UNFCCC (2008), Bellarby et al. (2008), *Fertilizers Europe
Food, Fertilizers and Natural

8. Land used outside Europe to
produce agricultural goods for
European consumption
40 net use of land for imports into EU (Mio ha)
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1999/2000 2007/2008
Source: Witzke & Noleppa (2010), Research Report
Food, Fertilizers and Natural

9. Nitrogen use efficiency is
important
 Where are we today?
Food, Fertilizers and Natural

10. Today EU produce more crops with less
nitrogen consumption
% (1990 = 100%)
120
Crop production
110
100
90
N Fertilizer consumption
80
70
60
50
40
1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
Food, Fertilizers and Natural

11. In Europe (EU 15) NUE has increased
during the last 20 years while N2O
emissions from agricultural from agricultural soils (Mio t CO2eq)
NUE (%) * N2O soils have
decreased
70 240
65 230
60 220
55 210
50 200
45
190
40
35 180
30 170
25 160
20 150
1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
Today Europe has the highest Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) of any region in the world.
Source: FAO, Fertilizers Europe, Yara Source: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
* NUE = crop N removal / mineral N input * 100 Change (UNFCCC, 2011)
N import with feed is not considered
Food, Fertilizers and Natural

12. How to further improve NUE ?
 Efficient
N fertilizer products tailored
to the growing conditions
N fertilizer management tools to
better adjust fertilizer application rate
and timing to crop requirements
Food, Fertilizers and Natural
Pag

13. Impact of different nitrogen fertilizers
and nitrogen forms on NUE
100
NUE (%)
93
90 89
85 85
80
70
Urea UAN CAN CN
Avg. of 15 field trials with winter wheat at a N supply of 160 kg/ha
Food, Fertilizers and Natural

14. Fertilizers Europe’ s Product
Stewardship Program
Good Agricultural Practices: Examples of tools developed
by the European fertilizer industry
• Covers the entire value chain
• Mandatory to Fertilizers Europe members
• Regularly audited
Food, Fertilizers and Natural

15. Example how such tools like
precision farming technologies can
improve NUE
More grain yields at a lower N application rate result in an improved NUE
10%
+ 6%
5%
grain yield
0% Farmer practice
-5%
N application
-10% rate
-15% - 14%
Average yield and N application of 23 trials with winter wheat, 2001-2008)
Food, Fertilizers and Natural

16. CONCLUSIONS
European agriculture is more a part of
the solution than of the problem
16
Food, Fertilizers and Natural