Final opportunity to register for Soil Nutrient Health Scheme as deadline extended by one week
Date published:
DAERA Minister Andrew Muir is urging farm businesses to take this final opportunity to register for the Soil Nutrient Health Scheme. To help with this, the closing date for registration has been extended to midnight on Monday 8 September 2025.
The Scheme is open to all farm business in Zone 4 (Co Antrim) and any other businesses in Zones 1, 2 and 3, which have not already registered in previous years.
Minister Muir said: "I am pleased that registrations to Zone 4 of the Soil Nutrient Health Scheme are continuing to increase since it opened in June. However, I understand the summer months are an extremely busy time for farm businesses and therefore I am extending the deadline for online registrations by one week.
“There are over 18,600 farm businesses who are already benefitting from taking part in the Scheme, by receiving valuable information which helps farm businesses match slurry, fertiliser and lime applications to crop needs more accurately. This will help to increase efficiency while also reducing the farm’s environmental footprint.”
Minister Muir added: “The unique information from Soil Nutrient Health Scheme results, can be used to develop a nutrient management plan for each farm. The online training delivered by CAFRE will help farm businesses to do this.”
It is important to note that taking part in the Scheme and completing the training is planned to be a conditionality for the new Farm Sustainability Payment from January 2026.
Data collected in the SNHS will not be used for any enforcement purposes. It will be shared only with AFBI for research purposes, and with third party contractors who collect and analyse the soil samples.
Registration for the Scheme is easy to do through the farm business Government Gateway Account.
Digital assistance is also available at local DAERA Direct offices or through an authorised agent.
Please see further information on the Soil Nutrient Health Scheme.
Notes to editors:
Registrations to Zone 1 of the Soil Nutrient Health Scheme (County Down and parts of Counties Antrim and Armagh) opened from May to September 2022.
Zone 2 (Fermanagh, the west of County Armagh and South Tyrone) opened from June to August 2023.
Zone 3 (North Tyrone Co Derry/Londonderry) opened from June to August 2024.
Uptake by farm businesses across Zones 1, 2 and 3 was at 90% overall.
Zone 4 (Co Antrim) opened for on-line registrations on 16 June 2025.
To date 2,192 farm businesses have registered to Zone 4 of the scheme.
Farmers in Zones 1, 2 and 3 who have not yet registered can also register for the Scheme.
Registration is through DAERA online services using a Government Gateway Account at: https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/services/daera-online-services.
Participation in the SNHS is planned to be a conditionality for the Farm Sustainability Payment from 2026. It is planned that farm businesses will be required to register for the Scheme and complete the training offered by CAFRE.
A key element of the scheme is completion of the Nutrient Management Planning training offered by DAERA’s College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) which is available at www.cafre.ac.uk/snhs-training
The roll-out of the SNHS continues with the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) working closely with the 2 main sub-contractors for the delivery of the Scheme: RPS Group (soil collection) and Cawood/NRM (soil analysis).
The AFBI SNHS Admin team can be contacted on 028 9025 5212 or via email at: SNHS@afbini.gov.uk.
AFBI is an arms-length body of DAERA delivering research and development, diagnostic and analytical testing, emergency response capability and expert scientific advice for DAERA and other government departments, public bodies and commercial companies in Northern Ireland, and further afield.
AFBI’s Vision is “Scientific excellence delivering impactful and sustainable outcomes for society, economy and the natural environment”.
AFBI’s Purpose is to deliver trusted, independent research, statutory & surveillance science, and expert advice that addresses local and global challenges, informs government policy and industry decision making, and underpins a sustainable agri-food industry and the natural and marine environments.
AFBI’s strategic priorities:
- Leading improvements in the agri-food industry to enhance its sustainability;
- Protecting animal, plant and human health;
- Enhancing the natural and marine environment;
- Delivering quality outcomes and impact;
- Enabling world class science through excellence in people, places & technology.