General information on fertiliser law

Fertilisation serves to supply the plants with necessary nutrients, in particular in order to ensure that the population is supplied with high quality and low-cost products.

A narrow legal framework ensures that human health, animal health and the ecosystem are not endangered.

Fertiliser Act

The Fertiliser Act regulates in particular the requirements for the placing on the market and application of fertilisers, soil improvers, plant strengtheners and growing media. It contains authorisations to issue ordinances that specify in greater detail the respective provisions.

The Act is aimed at

• ensuring the nutrition of crops,
• preserving or sustainably improving soil fertility, especially the site-specific and use-specific humus content,
• preventing or averting risks to human health, animal health and the ecosystem that may arise through the manufacture, placing on the market or application of fertilisers, soil improvers, plant aids and growing media or through other fertilisation measures,
• ensuring a sustainable and resource-efficient handling of nutrients in agricultural production, and in particular avoiding, as far as possible, nutrient losses into the environment; and
• transposing or implementing legal acts of the European Community or the European Union that relate to areas covered by this Act, in particular in relation to the trade with or application of fertilisers.

Fertiliser Application Ordinance

The Fertiliser Application Ordinance specifies the requirements for good professional practice in fertilisation and regulates how the risks associated with fertilisation – such as nutrient losses – can be reduced.

After the European Commission sued the Federal Republic of Germany in an infringement procedure, the European Court of Justice in its judgement of 21 June 2018 (Case C-543/16) decided that the Federal Republic of Germany had failed to fulfil its obligations stipulated by the Nitrates Directive due to inadequate implementation of the EC Nitrate Directive (Council Directive 91/676/EEC of 12 December 1991 concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources (OJ L 375 of 31 December 1991, p. 1) last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1137/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2008 (OJ L 311 of 21 November 2008, p. 1)).

To implement the ECJ ruling, the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) issued an ordinance amending the Fertiliser Application Ordinance, which entered into force on 1 May 2020. This ordinance introduces further measures – particularly in polluted areas – which aim to reduce or prevent nitrate inputs into the environment from agriculture. Section 13(a)(1)(2) of the amended Fertiliser Application Ordinance requires the Federal Government to issue a general administrative regulation for harmonising the procedure for the designation of nitrate-polluted and eutrophicated areas by federal state governments.

Administrative regulation to harmonise the designation of polluted areas

The general administrative regulation was drawn up by the Federal Government and the federal states and came into force on 11 November 2020. The federal states had until the end of 2020 to review the areas that had been designated as polluted and, where necessary, to make adjustments according to the stipulated criteria. All federal states have now re-designated their polluted areas and reissued or amended their state fertiliser application ordinances. The administrative regulation introduces criteria that specify a uniform procedure for the designation of polluted areas. This was necessary in order to ensure that polluted areas in Germany are designated as uniformly as possible and to increase the equity of the polluter-pays principle.

This regulation was also intended to dispel the Commission’s criticism with regard to inconsistent designation and therefore to reduce the risk of a continuation of the second infringement procedure against Germany. However, after examining the state fertiliser application ordinances, EU environment commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius made it clear in a letter dated 24 June 2021 that the Commission was dissatisfied with Germany’s implementation of the ECJ judgement with regard to the designation of polluted areas and expected amendments.

Talks with the Commission have resulted in the decision that, in future, polluted areas are expected to be designated according to a uniform procedure. For this purpose, the state fertiliser application ordinances will have to be amended in accordance with the General Administrative Regulation to harmonise the designation of polluted areas. These amendments concern the internal differentiation of groundwater bodies and the modelling of emissions arising from agriculture.

Help and advice for farmers

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture (BMEL) cooperates closely with the Länder services. The GAK “Improvement of Agricultural Structures and Coastal Protection” can be used to promote low-emission techniques for applying farm manure.

Ordinance on Nutrient-Flow Balances

The amendment to the Fertiliser Act in 2017 provided a legal basis for an Ordinance to be enacted on creating binding farm nutrient-flow balances. Under Section 11(a) of the Fertiliser Act, nutrients on the farm have to be handled in accordance with good professional practice in agricultural production.

The Ordinance on Nutrient-Flow Balances (StoffBilV) is designed to ensure a sustainable and resource-efficient handling of nutrients on the farm and thus improve fertilisation, nutrient efficiency and environmental conservation. The Ordinance on Nutrient-Flow Balances has been in force since 1 January 2018. Further information on the Ordinance on Nutrient-Flow Balances is available here. According to Section 11(a)(2)(7) of the Fertiliser Act, the BMEL is required to investigate the effects of compulsory nutrient-flow balancing (including the Ordinance on Nutrient-Flow Balances from 2017) and to report back to the German Bundestag by 31 December 2021 at the latest.

The evaluation of the Ordinance on Nutrient-Flow Balances was conducted by a working group of the Federal Government and the federal states (BLAG) as well as an expert panel in consultation with the BMEL and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUV), resulting in a report that was presented to the Bundestag before the end of 2021.

Part I of the report summarises the previous experiences in introducing and implementing the Ordinance on Nutrient-Flow Balances in the federal states and includes suggestions for amendments to the provisions of the ordinance made by the federal states. Based on this, part II describes suggestions for evaluating the farm nutrient-flow balances for nitrogen and phosphorus and estimates the number of farms affected and the need for adaptation. Furthermore, it includes an estimate of the potential reduction in nutrient surpluses that may be achieved if the suggested evaluation approaches are applied. The report forms the basis for further discussions to meet the requirement to evaluate the farm nutrient-flow balances for nitrogen pursuant to the Ordinance on Nutrient-Flow Balances by 31 December 2022.

Fertiliser Ordinance

Fertilisers must be approved by European or national fertiliser legislation and may only be applied in accordance with good professional practice. Good professional practice includes bringing the type, quantity and timing of fertiliser application in line with plant and soil requirements.

Fertilisers must be capable of:

• significantly promoting the growth of agricultural crops;
• significantly increasing their yield;
• significantly improving their quality; or
• preserving or sustainably improving soil fertility.

They must not, when properly used, damage human or animal health or pose a risk to the ecosystem.

The Fertiliser Application Ordinance defines in greater detail these legal requirements by laying down rules for the production, composition and labelling of fertilisers. The Ordinance contains rules governing the authorised basic substances, and the levels and efficacy of nutrients, and restricts the levels of undesirable substances. 

Released 29. Dec 2022 as article