Skip to content
inner-hero-services

Nutrient Management Planning for livestock and mixed farms

Be sure your farm gets full value from its manures, stays compliant and that your plan is right

Get a quote for your farm

What’s a Nutrient Management Plan?

A Nutrient Management Plan sets out what each field needs, what you already have in your own manures and slurries, and what you need to buy in. It brings together soil analysis, cropping, livestock numbers, manure and fertiliser records and any imported organics such as digestate, biosolids or poultry litter. So you know what to apply, where, when and how much.
It’s also the document the Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales, the RPA and farm assurance auditors ask to see.
We write bespoke plans for farms across England and Wales. Our advisers are FACTS qualified and we don’t sell fertiliser, so the plan suits your farm, not our order book.
Untitled design (6)

Why it’s worth doing nutrient management properly

With increasing regulatory requirements and the need for sustainable practices, nutrient management has never been more important.

With proper planning you can:

IMG-20220330-WA0003

Save money

Most farms are sitting on more nutrient value than they realise. On one large dairy farm we valued the organic materials already on the holding at £89,000. Know what’s in your slurry and farmyard manure, put it on the fields that need it, and buy less bagged fertiliser.
Save money
inner-hero-services

Stay compliant

Farming Rules for Water, NVZ rules and farm assurance schemes all expect you to plan applications, justify them and keep records. A current plan turns an inspection into a straightforward conversation.
Stay compliant
why-image-2

Look after your soil

Organic matter, balanced nutrients and applications matched to what the crop needs. Better structure, better water holding, less run off. Fields that stay productive for generations to come.
Look after your soil

What goes into your plan?

We take account of your soil analysis, cropping plans, livestock numbers, manure and fertiliser spreading details, and imported organics (e.g. biosolids, digestate, etc.) and marry them all to provide a bespoke Nutrient Management Plan. So you know exactly what nutrients need to be applied to achieve maximum yields.

Get in touch

Your plan includes:

Soil analysis

Current results for every field, or new sampling if yours are out of date. You’re expected to hold analysis less than five years old, but many farms don’t. We can sample as part of our service.

Cropping plan

What is going where, and what each crop needs. Applications matched to the requirement rather than to what was ordered last year.

Manures, slurries and imported organics

Livestock numbers, slurry and effluent volumes, storage, and analysis of what’s in your manures. Book figures are averages and manures vary widely from farm to farm. We sample yours rather than assume.

Field risk mapping

Colour-coded maps of your farm showing nutrient indices, the fields where manures will earn most, and the areas where run off or leaching is a risk. A map you can hand to a contractor and point at.

Compliance documentation

Application records, spreading risk maps and site drainage plans, in a form that an inspector or an auditor will accept.

IMG-20240619-WA0008

Three visits not an email

A basic Nutrient Management Plan can be produced in half a day. Plenty are. It arrives as an attachment, satisfies the requirement on paper, and nothing changes on the farm.
Ours is a three-visit service.

What you get from us that a standard plan won’t give you

Our Nutrient Management Planning service gives peace of mind that your farm meets regulations.

  • Picture1

    The best fields, not the nearest

    Anyone can spread manure on the twenty acres closest to the yard. We identify which fields will give you the most value from it.
  • 20241003_122046

    A financial value for your own organics

    What your slurry and farmyard manure are worth in bought fertiliser terms, so you can see the value of what you’re already sitting on.
  • Snow

    Livestock and arable joined up

    An agronomist will sort the arable side. But livestock calculations, slurry calculations and effluent generation are usually not part of their work. We link the two together for you.
  • slider-4

    Imported organics accounted for

    Digestate, biosolids, poultry litter and other materials, valued and placed properly rather than treated as a bonus.
  • Tractor spraying pesticides at corn fields

    Independent advice

    We do not sell fertiliser. A plan produced by a supplier can, in part, be justification for an order. Ours isn’t.
  • IMG-20240619-WA0008

    Everything an inspection asks for

    Livestock calculations, slurry calculations, effluent generation, site plans, storage, records. We have sat in on inspections with farmers and been asked for all of it. You can be confident you have everything covered.

Nutrient Management Planning and the rules

Regulation around nutrients has tightened and will tighten again. The Environment Agency now carries out close to 5,000 farm inspections a year, and since the revised Farming Rules for Water guidance in 2025 it has moved from advice to enforcement. A plan that shows what you applied, where, when and why is the best answer.

Get in touch

Farming Rules for Water

Plan manure and fertiliser to match crop and soil need, allow for soil conditions and weather, and keep records. Since 2025 the match must be shown at the time of spreading, backed by recent soil analysis. You need to justify every application.

Nitrate Vulnerable Zones

Limits on nitrogen, closed periods for organic manures and manufactured nitrogen, storage requirements and record keeping. Your plan sets out the position field by field and keeps you inside the limits.

Farm assurance and scheme requirements

Red Tractor and other schemes expect a Nutrient Management Plan and current soil analysis. So do an increasing number of supply contracts. We build the plan to satisfy the scheme and the regulator.

Inspections

Plans are checked by the Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales and the RPA. If you have a date in the diary, tell us when you call. We’ve been on farm with customers during Farming Rules for Water inspections.

Sustainable Farming Incentive and soil management

Soil sampling, soil management planning and erosion risk assessment can be built into the same visit rather than paid for separately.

Who our Nutrient Management Planning service suits

Our plans earn their keep on dairy farms and mixed livestock and arable farms, where manures are worth serious money and the two sides need joining up. They also suit farms taking in digestate, biosolids or poultry litter, where the paperwork has to stand up.
Arable farms with no livestock and no imported organics get less from it, though the maps and field risk work still apply. Call us and we’ll be honest about whether a plan is worth your money.
image-generic-reassurance-9

Your questions, answered

Want to improve yields and reduce risks 
on your farm, but have some questions? 
See our FAQs.

What’s a Nutrient Management Plan?

A field-by-field plan, setting out the precise nutrients each of your fields need, what’s available from your own manures and slurries, and what needs to be bought in. It takes account of soil analysis, cropping, livestock numbers, manure and fertiliser applications and any imported organics, and it specifies what to apply where, when and the quantities required.

Do I need a Nutrient Management Plan?

If you are in an NVZ, subject to Farming Rules for Water, in a farm assurance scheme such as Red Tractor, or receiving imported organic materials, then yes. Even where a Plan isn’t required, it’s the document that shows you’re managing nutrients deliberately, rather than by habit.

What are the Farming Rules for Water?

They require you to plan applications of organic manures and manufactured fertilisers to match soil and crop need, to take account of soil conditions, slope and weather when spreading, and to keep records of what you applied. Since the revised guidance in 2025, the match to crop and soil need has to be shown at the time of spreading and supported by recent soil analysis, not averaged across a rotation. Compliance is checked at inspection and a Nutrient Management Plan is the main way of showing it.

What is the NVZ closed period?

In a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone there are periods when organic manures with a high readily available nitrogen content, and manufactured nitrogen fertiliser, must not be spread. The dates depend on your soil type and what is growing. Your plan sets out the position for each field so you are not working it out in the yard.

How can I save money on bought fertiliser?

Sample your manures rather than relying on book averages, target them at the fields that will give the best return, and match applications to what the crop needs. On farms with livestock the savings can be substantial. We valued the organic materials on one large dairy farm at £89,000.

How much is my farmyard manure and slurry worth?

More than most farms assume, and it varies enormously from farm to farm depending on the stock, the bedding and the feed. Analysis is the only way to know . Once you have a figure per tonne or per cubic metre, you can see exactly how much bought fertiliser it replaces.

Can my agronomist write my Nutrient Management Plan?

Many do, for the arable side. What’s usually missing is the livestock element: slurry and manure calculations, effluent generation, storage, and where the organics should go. On a mixed farm, joining those two together is where we add real value. And as we’re independent of fertiliser sales, there’s no order attached to our advice.

Can I use a Nutrient Management Plan template?

A template will hold your figures. It will not analyse your slurry, work out which fields will give you the best return from your farmyard manure, or account for imported digestate or biosolids. It also will not sit with you and explain it. If your aim is to have a document in the file, a template may be enough. If your aim is to spend less on fertiliser, it is not.

How long does it take to create a Nutrient Management Plan?

Allow a few weeks from our first visit, depending on whether soil or manure sampling is needed and how quickly the laboratory returns results. If you have an inspection date, call us and we’ll tell you honestly what can be done in the time.

4R Reassurance Blog & News

News
Untitled-design-4
News & Guidance

The 5 Most Common Farm Health & Safety Risks and How to Control Them

The 5 Most Common Farm Health & Safety Risks and How to Control Them
Untitled-design-8
News & Guidance

How Regular Farm Soil and Manure Sampling Can Help Reduce Fertiliser Costs

How Regular Farm Soil and Manure Sampling Can Help Reduce Fertiliser Costs

Helping you focus on farming!

Contact Us
0345 64 64 314
info@4rreassurance.co.uk