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23 JANUARY 1998 ------------------------- SAY NO TO FERTILISER TAX STANDBY for the next attack on your pocket – a fertiliser tax. The continuing furore over BSE and the banning of beef on
the bone has tended to obscure the next missile being prepared by government for possible use against British agriculture: A tax, or similar measure, on what are termed pollutants including
fertilisers. A consultation document has been issued with a deadline of the end of January for comments. Although one part of the document acknowledges that plant nutrients are normal and
natural, and some loss is inevitable, crop nutrients are still termed pollutants. One of the aims of applying "economic instruments", as they are euphemistically termed, is given
as reducing excessive fertiliser use. But no evidence of such overuse is offered. Indeed the British Survey of Fertiliser Practice suggests otherwise. It shows declining fertiliser use and
increasingly efficient use of fertilisers in crop production. Perhaps the major worry is that the consultation document contradicts itself. First it states that nitrogen fertiliser
application rates are little affected by price. It then follows with the suggestion that a moderate tax might nevertheless reduce overuse. It cannot have it both ways. Simplistic language is
also used. Nutrient loss occurs through what it terms "run-off". There appears to be no understanding of the complicated soil processes involved. The proponents of the tax seem to
believe factory floor precision can be applied to field crops grown in the vagaries of the British climate. It can not. The message is clear – if you believe fertilisers are already being
used efficiently, let the government know. You have until the end of January to lodge your comments. Send them to: KEVIN LLOYD, WATER QUALITY DIVISION, DEPT. OF THE ENVIRONMENT, TRANSPORT
AND THE REGIONS, ROOM A412, ROMNEY HOUSE, 43 MARSHAM STREET, LONDON SW1P 3EB FURTHER COPIES OF THE PAPER ARE AVAILABLE FROM: SANDRA RENNIE, WATER QUALITY DIVISION, DETR TEL: 0171-276
8266/FAX: 0171-276 8895.
