Unprotected urea could be banned from sale next year under a radical plan agreed by an industry stakeholder group.

Only protected urea should be available to Irish farmers from autumn next year, the Agricultural Water Quality Working Group has recommended to the Government.

The move represents a major shake-up of the fertiliser market, as unprotected urea still accounts for a large proportion of nitrogen sales.

The minutes from a recent working group meeting, seen by the Irish Farmers Journal, stated that the “prohibition on the use of unprotected urea would apply from 15 September 2025”.

“For additional areas moving to a maximum derogation limit of 220kg N/ha [organic], this [prohibition] would apply from 1 December 2025,” the minutes read.

Almost 80,000t of unprotected urea was purchased by farmers this year, with the same tonnage of protected urea sold. A further 40,000t of unprotected urea blended with sulphur or phosphorus and potassium was bought by farmers.

Cost implications

While using only protected urea is a key climate change objective for Irish agriculture, the move has cost implications for farmers as the product is €40/t to €50/t more expensive than unprotected urea.