It has been a tricky start to the year, with a period of extensive wet weather and urea in short supply for some. Growers therefore need to think about how they will achieve nutrient use efficiency (NUE), says DJL Agriculture’s Daniel Lievesley. He feels a lot of nitrogen might be lost, with growers forced to apply ammonium nitrate to high-pH soils, leading to ‘non-functioning’ anaerobic soils. If that causes denitrification – where bacteria convert nitrogen trioxide into nitrous oxide or nitrogen gas, which is then lost to the atmosphere – nutrient uptake will be compromised. It can also knock back…