Nitrogen use efficiency in Scotland: annual report 2024

Post Climate Change Plan Update (CCPu)

Since the publication of Scotland’s Climate Change Plan Update (CCPu), further actions with relevance to improving Scotland’s nitrogen use have been implemented.

Food Production: Agriculture

Our Vision for Agriculture aims to transform farming and food production in Scotland, with the goal of becoming a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture. This is a holistic approach that will include reduction of nitrogen use. The Agricultural Reform Programme is transforming farming and food production in Scotland. Currently, financial assistance is being provided for the implementation of activities like carbon audits, soil testing and nutrient management planning. Preparing for Sustainable Farming (PSF) focuses on incentives to farmers and crofters to help them understand their Carbon emissions and sequestration, identifying recommendations that can lower these emissions and increase efficiencies. This includes support for soil testing and nutrient management planning which can help improve nitrogen efficiency.

In March 2024, we published the third edition of the Agricultural Reform Route Map, which serves as a reliable source for upcoming information outlining the transition to a new agricultural support framework from 2026.

The Whole Farm Plan conditions commence in 2025 and will require farmers and crofters to complete two baselining activities from a list of options, including carbon audits, biodiversity audits, soil analysis, the creation of animal health and welfare plans, and integrated pest management plans. We will add Nutrient Management Plans to the Whole Farm Plans by 2028, which will support improved nitrogen efficiency, with proportionate Carbon audits being required by all farms receiving public support by 2028 at the latest. These changes are designed to help all our farmers and crofters do more to produce food sustainably, to cut emissions and to farm more for nature.

We have introduced the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill which will give ministers powers to introduce, and periodically review, a Rural Support Plan aligned to the Vision for Agriculture.

The bill also seeks to establish a Code of Practice on Sustainable and Regenerative Agriculture which will outline effective regenerative practice. This will be co-developed, and cover, soil, crop and livestock management, including the use of N-fixing legumes, mixed arable/livestock systems, regenerative grazing, minimum tillage, more efficient use of synthetic nutrients, livestock efficiencies and methane inhibiting feeds.

The Scottish Government has commissioned work through our climate centre of expertise ClimateXChange (CXC) to produce a report, to be published during 2024, on the potential for setting a target for nitrogen use efficiency in agriculture in Scotland.

We also published Farm level emissions and nitrogen usage data from the 21/22 Scottish Farm Business Survey.

The environment, food and rural affairs Strategic Research Programme 2022-2027 has two projects which continue to run and will consider crop varieties with improved nitrogen-use efficiency. These are:

• The Impact of Novel Crops and Farming Technologies on the Scottish Agricultural Landscape
• Exploring Barley Diversity for resilience and sustainability

We are committed to providing support and guidance to demonstrating the benefits of regenerative agriculture, precision farming, and nitrogen use efficiency, for example, by offering financial support, practical advice, and skill development opportunities. Through initiatives like the Farm Advisory Service (where several specialist advice outputs covering precision farming and nitrogen use have been undertaken) and through the Monitor Farm Programme.

Recent enhancements (2023) to the Forestry Grant Scheme for agroforestry and small farm woodlands aim to encourage more trees on farms and will facilitate a reduction in emissions. These are augmented by the farmer-led Integrating Trees Network initiative, supported by Scottish Government and Scottish Forestry, which offers a platform to share advice and experiences of incorporating trees on farms to encourage uptake.

In addition, amendments have been made to the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011 to reduce nitrogen loss to the environment. These include improving controls on the storage of slurry and digestate to reduce leakage, and more targeted spreading to maximise the nutrient benefit, and thereby improve nitrogen use efficiency, and reduce emissions.

Food Production: Aquaculture

Scotland’s aquaculture website includes data on annual levels of nitrogen emitted from fish farms, provided by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency as part of monitoring and reporting requirements it sets under the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) Regulations 2011.

Transport

In terms of air quality pollutants (including ammonia and NO₂), the Scottish Government in July 2021 published the Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 (CAFS 2) Strategy, which sets out the policy framework for further air quality improvements over the period 2021-2026 to protect human health and the environment, and to fulfil legal responsibilities. It is recognised that NO₂ emissions from transport and combustion more generally can have a significant impact on human health, with high concentrations present close to busy roads. CAFS 2 contains a wide range of actions across a number of policy areas which will contribute to reductions in nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) emissions. This includes our strategic approach to transport through Scotland’s National Transport Strategy (NTS), published in February 2020, which underpins our efforts to deliver additional air quality improvements in CAFS 2.

At its core, the NTS embeds the Sustainable Travel Hierarchy in decision making by promoting walking, wheeling, cycling, public transport and shared transport in preference to private car. It further embeds the Sustainable Investment Hierarchy in investment decisions that recognise the need to reduce unsustainable travel and focus on maintaining and safely operating existing assets over investment in targeted infrastructure improvements.

Annual NTS Delivery Plans set out the actions being taken across the Scottish Government to deliver our shared vision for transport. The third Delivery Plan, published in December 2023, makes reference to the Vision for Scotland’s Public Electric Vehicle Charging Network, highlighting the need for a transition towards a public charging network that is largely financed and delivered by the private sector.

Humans and settlements (including waste management)

Moving to a circular economy in Scotland is key to ensuring optimal, sustainable use of nitrogen inputs to the economy, for example reducing waste, re-using and recycling nitrogen, and minimising losses of nitrogen into the environment. Our CCPu set out our circular economy vision that by 2045 Scotland’s cultural, social and business norms will be driven by a focus on:

• Responsible Production, where a circular economy is embraced by the businesses and organisations that supply products, ensuring the maximum life and value from the natural resources used to make them.
• Responsible Consumption, where people and businesses demand products and services in ways which respect the limits of our natural resources. Unnecessary waste, in particular food waste, will be unacceptable in Scotland.
• Maximising Value from Waste and Energy, where the environmental and economic value of wasted resources and energy is harnessed efficiently.

To achieve this, and reduce nitrogen loss, will need fundamental changes in the way that resources are produced, consumed and managed. This means accelerating action across society to reduce the demand for raw material in products; encourage reuse and repair through responsible production and consumption; and recycle resources and energy to maximise the value of any waste that is generated, while minimising environmental and climate impacts.

To lay the foundations for this transformation, the Scottish Government published a draft Circular Economy and Waste Route Map to 2030 for a second consultation in January 2024. Alongside this, the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament in June 2023. See the ’Future opportunities’ section below for more information on this.

The Route Map and Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill complement the existing, wide-ranging measures we have delivered or are delivering to meet our sustainable resource objectives, improve how efficiently nitrogen is used and support our drive to tackle climate change (including those policies and proposals outlined in the CCPu).

Helping to address nitrogen losses associated with food consumption, a range of food waste reduction measures have been delivered, in partnership with Zero Waste Scotland, since the publication of the Food Waste Reduction Action Plan in 2019. These include: completing audits for 250 businesses and recommending actions to reduce food waste; delivering communication campaigns to raise awareness of the issue of food waste and how householders can address it; and supporting FareShare to redistribute nearly 2,000 tonnes of surplus food to community groups as a result of funding by zero waste and food insecurity policy areas to help address food waste and insecurity issues.

Current measures to divert waste from landfill include a ban on biodegradable municipal waste going to landfill from 31 December 2025, and support for local authorities to secure contracts that comply with the ban. Our £70 million Recycling Improvement Fund was launched in March 2021, and more than £60 million has been awarded to 25 local authority projects to improve recycling infrastructure, projected to save over 57,000 tonnes of CO2e per year. This includes funding improvements to food waste recycling across Scotland. By reducing food waste sent to landfill we are preventing valuable nutrients from being lost. Reducing the amount of food, and other wastes with a high nitrogen content, sent to landfill can reduce the nitrogen content of landfill leachate, and therefore, reduce the amount [or N] released to the environment.

Forests, woodlands and terrestrial semi-natural ecosystems

Woodland creation and management in Scotland are underpinned by the internationally recognised principles of Sustainable Forest Management – as defined in the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS). The UKFS is the technical standard for forestry in Scotland and sets out the legal and good practice requirements to be followed. A new version of the UKFS was published in October 2023 and will come into effect in October 2024. The Scottish Government supports tree planting through the Forestry Grant Scheme for which, compliance with the UKFS is required to obtain funding. Through detailed guidelines, the UKFS gives considerable safeguards to protect the soil and water environment from nitrate saturation, leaching and runoff.

The UKFS requires forest soil fertility levels to be maintained to safeguard the soil’s character and productive potential. To achieve this, one important aspect is to ensure the removal of forest products from the site, including non-timber products, is managed with a consideration of soil type to mitigate against the depletion of site fertility or soil carbon over the long term and ensure site potential is maintained. The use of fertilisers in forestry is now very rare, particularly nitrogen based ones.

In 2023, a further Forestry Grant Scheme enhancement for woodlands for riparian benefits was launched. Similar to the agroforestry and small farm woodlands grant scheme options set out as actions in the Climate Change Plan update (2020), this grant option encourages more trees on farms, facilitates integrated land use change and supports a reduction in emissions.