Agrarmarkt Austria publishes quarterly sales figures for the pure nutrients nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P2O5) and potash (K2O). LBG Österreich GmbH collects data on the annual application rates of pure nutrients from mineral fertilisers from farms that voluntarily keep accounts for the Green Report.
As part of a short study conducted by the Federal Institute for Agricultural Economics in 2016, the pure nutrient requirements of Austrian agriculture were determined at NUTS II level on the basis of standardised withdrawal values for plant crops (according to cultivated area and yield per hectare), taking into account the pure nutrient yield from livestock farming. The calculation was performed using the spreadsheet software ‘EXCEL’.
The sales volumes according to AMA surveys, the extrapolated application rates and the nutrient requirements based on the nutrient removal of plant crops and nutrient supply from farm manure were compared.
The aim of the project was to adapt the calculations of nutrient requirements to the current data situation, taking into account the nutrient removal from plants and the nutrient supply from farm manure (e.g. Guidelines for Proper Fertilisation in Arable Farming and Grassland – 8th edition, 2022), and to review the calculation methods.
Based on this, a tool is to be programmed that will allow automated, time-saving evaluations at regular intervals by accessing the available databases. In addition, it will be examined whether it is expedient to determine the net nutrient requirement for individual farms based on INVEKOS data, with the possibility of carrying out evaluations by region, type of farm, etc.
In 2023, data from current publications was collected retroactively back to 2015. The evaluations of nutrient application rates from farms voluntarily keeping records for the Green Report were updated. In 2024, the data used to calculate net nutrient requirements was updated. Programming of the automated evaluation tool was started.
The programming of the tool was completed and the initial results were discussed with experts.
Project start: 01/ 2023
Project end: 07/2025
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