British farmers will be asked to provide photo identification (ID) before buying certain fertilisers from 1 October.

A widening of the control of poisons and explosives precursors regulations 2023 will affect sales of ammonium nitrate (AN) fertilisers with a nitrogen content of 16% or more in England, Wales and Scotland. The regulations do not apply to farmers in Northern Ireland (NI).

The new verification requirements will apply to fertiliser compounds, blends and mixtures such as NPK fertilisers that exceed the AN threshold.

The photo ID provided to the fertiliser merchant can be of anyone in the farm business making the purchase and this verification will be kept on record.

It will need to be updated every 18 months or if the person buying the fertiliser changes at any stage.

Photo ID will be required for sales of ammonium nitrate (AN) fertilisers with a nitrogen content of 16% or more. \ Donal O'Leary

“Farmers need to be aware of this new regulation so that they can work with their suppliers ahead of the need to purchase fertiliser after 1 October,” UK National Farmers Union (NFU) crops chair Matt Culley has warned.

Important

The NFU has called on the British government to ensure that the additional fertiliser regulations “do not put barriers in place that disrupt a grower's ability to purchase important crop nutrients”.

This, Culley said, will be especially important “during times of urgency to get fertiliser on farm and applied within the appropriate timeframe”.

The UK’s Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC) has pushed back against the upcoming fertiliser regulations, insisting that “tens of thousands” of farmers could be caught out by the change.

AIC head of fertiliser Jo Gilbertson said: “While we will always support efforts to further minimise the public safety risks of fertiliser falling into the wrong hands, the government has failed to understand how ammonium nitrate products are bought and sold within agriculture."