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If you are already a registered PLANET user,

click here to download PLANET version 3.1

 

Good management of manufactured fertiliser and organic manure nutrients (e.g. nitrogen, phosphate, potash, sulphur and lime) applied to land, is essential to help farmers grow the food that people want to buy, whilst minimising harm to the environment or health. It is an important objective for farmers to help maximise food production without unnecessary and wasteful applications of nutrients which can result in nutrient pollution of water and air. Nutrient pollution of the environment can cause serious damage and is a significant potential problem that needs to be minimised.

PLANET and ENCASH are nutrient management software tools that are freely available for use by farmers and their advisers in England, Wales and Scotland. They have been developed by ADAS with funding and support from Defra and the Scottish Government, and in consultation with industry stakeholders, including the Environment Agency (EA). The software is maintained by ADAS.

  • Losses of nitrate-N to surface and groundwaters. High nitrate concentrations can make water unsuitable for drinking and can contribute to algal blooms and other ecological changes.
  • Losses of nitrogen as nitrous oxide, a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Nitrous oxide is about 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
  • Losses of nitrogen as ammonia to air. High concentrations of ammonia in the air can aggravate some health conditions such as asthma.  It can also mean that nitrogen is deposited from the air onto land, which can result in damage to some habitats, including streams, rivers and other water bodies.
  • Losses of phosphorus to water. Phosphorus in water is a major factor causing ecological changes (e.g. algal blooms).

PLANET (Planning Land Applications of Nutrients for Efficiency and the environmenT).

  • New PLANET version 3.1 released in May 2011 (download or on DVD). All existing farm files can be used with new versions of PLANET.
  • Applicable to farms in England, Wales and Scotland
  • Field-level record keeping, industry standard recommendations allowing for organic manure nutrients, nutrient application plans
  • Help with carrying out calculations and producing reports to assess and show compliance with the revised NVZ rules (in force from 1 January 2009)
  • PLANET calculation engines are integrated into some commercial agricultural software packages

Click here to register for your free copy of PLANET as download or on DVD

Click here to view the PLANET audio visual tutorials

Click here for PLANET downloads