Official figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) show that total Irish fertiliser sales are down 13.46% over a six-month period from October 2021 to March 2022, compared to the same period in the previous year.

Commenting on the figures, released this week by the DAFM, managing director (MD) of Grassland Agro, Liam Woulfe said they estimate that, in February alone, total fertiliser sales were back 50% on the previous year, while the combination of sales for March and April were back about 20%.

According to Woulfe, the sales reduction figure for Northern Ireland could be in the region of 10%.

He added:

“Milk output is down by around 4% so far this year. The weather has played fair so far this year, which means that a fall-off in fertiliser usage must be a major contributory factor in this regard.”

So what does all of this mean going forward?

“Grass production levels are down year-on-year. And, no matter what farmers do from here on in, it may well be impossible to reverse this trend, especially with less fertiliser application," said the Grassland Agro MD said.

“One outcome of all this is the very real possibility that very little supplementary silage will be made later in the season.

He continued:

“But the ongoing conflict in Ukraine will have major implications for the sourcing of fertiliser for the Irish market in 2023.

“Prior to the beginning of the war, it was possible to source product from manufacturers and suppliers in Russia, all of whom are now sanctioned out of the market.

“And, even if the conflict in Ukraine does end within the foreseeable future, a significant cooling off period will probably be required before Russian fertiliser operations coming back onto the international market.

“In the absence of Russian fertiliser sources, the European market will be depending on sourcing all of its material from 60% of its traditional sources in 2023.

Liam Woulfe concluded:

“Both options throw up major challenges for the Irish fertiliser sector. And the work required to arrive at a satisfactory resolution of these matters must start now.”