Grassland derogations for livestock manure in nitrate vulnerable zones

You can apply up to 170kg per hectare of nitrogen from livestock manure on your holding in a nitrate vulnerable zone (NVZ) in each calendar year.

This includes manure deposited directly by grazing livestock and what you spread. This is the farm loading limit and applies as an average across your holding.

You may be able to operate under a derogation to use up to 250kg of nitrogen per hectare from grazing livestock manure under certain conditions. Use this guide to find out how.

Use the interactive map to find out if any of your land is in an NVZ.

The Environment Agency (EA) regularly updates this tool to show any changes to NVZ designations which may affect your derogation. You should make applications for the derogation based on the interactive map.

You can apply for a grassland derogation to use a higher limit of up to 250kg of nitrogen per hectare, if the nitrogen comes from grazing livestock manure.

You cannot get permission to use more nitrogen from non-grazing livestock (veal calves, pigs or poultry) and must keep within the 170kg per hectare limit.

You must comply with the conditions of a derogation and the NVZ rules if your application is successful.

You can only apply for a derogation if at least 80% of the agricultural area of your holding is grass.

The agricultural area is the part of your holding you use for agricultural purposes. It does not include, for example:

Apply for a grassland derogation for 2027

You should apply online between 6 November and 31 December 2026 for a grassland derogation in 2027.

As part of your application, you’ll need to upload a map showing the location and extent of the land parcels that make up your holding.