Farmers group seeks delay to nitrogen rules after calculation error

Landbrug og Fødevarer is urging a delay to Denmark’s new nitrogen rules after Aarhus University found errors in calculations behind them, DR reports. The agriculture and food industry organisation wants the rules to take effect when the next growing season begins in August 2027, rather than on 1 January as planned.

Vice-chairman Martin Hjort Jensen said the error adds to concerns about the haste surrounding the new rules. Farmers still do not know how to manage the growing season already under way, he said.

The organisation is calling for what it describes as a “fumble year” to resolve uncertainties. Fields sown since the current growing season began in August are due to be regulated using the new figures, but many farmers remain unsure how much fertiliser they can use on each field, Jensen said.

Jensen said the organisation accepts that changes are needed to reduce nitrogen emissions from agriculture, but argued farmers and the public need clarity on the figures used to plan fields. The calculation error had caused doubts about the university’s data, he said, although the organisation expected the data to be reliable.