October 15 is the deadline for every professional fertiliser user in Ireland to file a closing stock declaration with the National Fertiliser Database (NFD) — and a nil return is compulsory for farms holding no fertiliser at all.

The legal obligation applies to all professional users, not only those with product in the shed. Farmers with remaining stock must declare the type of fertiliser and the quantity of each product held. Farmers with nothing in store must submit a 'nil' declaration through the same channel. There is no exemption for empty stores.

The reference point for the count is fixed: closing stocks are any fertiliser held on hand at 23.59 on September 14 each year. The final date for submissions is October 15, 2026.

Farmers can file the declaration themselves, or through their agents, via the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine's (DAFM's) MyAgFood.ie portal. According to the DAFM, the closing-stock system is quick and easy to use, and the department has published a step-by-step guide on its National Fertiliser Database webpage.

The declaration matters beyond paperwork. The NFD underpins Ireland's tracking of fertiliser use across the national herd, and inaccurate closing stocks feed through into inaccurate records for the following year. Farmers are encouraged to check their fertiliser transaction records on MyAgFood.ie now to confirm the data held against their farm is accurate and up to date.

Contractor rules

Where a contractor supplies fertiliser to a farmer, the transaction must be allocated to the customer's herd number. Contractors can do this directly through MyAgFood.ie using the 'Farm to Farm Transfer' facility.

Responsibility for the accuracy of customer data on the National Fertiliser Database sits with these operators. Farmers who spot discrepancies in their recorded purchases should raise the issue with their merchant first, before escalating elsewhere.

CBAM row continues

The declaration deadline lands amid continued friction in Brussels over fertiliser costs. A proposal tabled by the European Parliament to direct a portion of revenue from the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to support farmers has been slammed as "incomprehensible" by farm lobbyists.

Earlier this month, the parliament voted narrowly to scrap a proposed safeguard that would have removed fertiliser from the scope of the measure in exceptional circumstances — specifically, conditions that could harm EU markets and push prices too high.

In its place, MEPs proposed a new mechanism under CBAM that would temporarily redirect revenues from the measure — which requires importers of fertiliser and other products to purchase certificates — from the goods concerned to the affected sectors.

Copa Cogeca, the EU umbrella group of farm organisations and the body to which the Irish Farmers' Association belongs, called the removal of the safeguard "simply incomprehensible". The group pointed to the timing: fertiliser prices remain high and geopolitical tensions continue to pressure energy and fertiliser markets.

For Irish farmers, the practical immediate task is narrower. Check the shed records against September 14 holdings, verify transaction data on MyAgFood.ie, and file — stock or no stock — before October 15. Farmers using contractors should confirm their Farm to Farm Transfers have been allocated correctly well before the deadline.