Dr. Frank O'Mara:

I wish to add one or two comments on the nitrogen issue further to my colleague's comments. I stress that there is a convergence of issues relating to nitrogen. Nitrogen is a really important part of our advice to farmers on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. They need to use nitrogen correctly, use the right type and use as little as possible. Obviously, the exact same messages are pertinent to water quality. That has been part of our advisory messages in recent years. This year it has been reinforced by the impact on fertiliser prices of the war in Ukraine. Farmers are using nitrogen very judiciously this year because it is so expensive. The challenge for them this year is being able to afford to buy enough to allow them to grow their crops properly.

It is not just a grassland issue. Earlier someone spoke about us not having enough nitrogen to grow grass to feed our animals. We need nitrogen to grow our crops. We need nitrogen for all our farming activity. There is a convergence of issues. In a way it is good that we have this very strong focus on nitrogen. We do not deny that the load of nitrogen is an important factor. However, as Mr. Burgess said, it is much more nuanced.

That brings me to the point I wanted to make in response to the question the Chairman relayed on the complementary roles of regulation and advice. Regulation can set a framework for how things are to be done. Advice is about how things should happen on a given day, week or month. For instance, we tailor our advice about when fertiliser should be applied depending on weather conditions and soil type. That is layered on top of the regulations. That shows the complementarity between an advisory organisation like ours and the regulation that Government and policymakers set. I believe we need both. We cannot rely totally on regulation to solve these issues and we cannot rely totally on advice to solve these issues.