In every farming paper every week there seems to be articles about nitrogen and its leaching problems. As part of every article there is a comment from a sorrowful ‘scientist’ that they haven’t yet worked out how to solve it.  

Research funding
I’ve more than once heard the ultimate put-down from ‘scientist’ to small producer; ‘You’re just trying to make money!’ Which might be funny if the ‘scientist’ wasn’t being paid a regular salary and getting research funding, while the small producer has had to find his own capital and working costs, and is regularly refused research funding.  

In the meantime our freshwaters get more polluted (whether from farm or urban runoff), the urea users grow no more grass/ha than they did 30 years ago (looking at figures from Waikato Technical Institute trials run from 1979-84). So they continue to add in ever more supplement and, when the milk price dives, as at present, their farm working expenses knock any profits for six.  

And if they have one of the farmers using soil-life-friendly fertiliser living near them, they can gaze over the fence at the knee high grass in winter, and perhaps mutter, ‘He must spread his urea in the dark when we aren’t looking!’