NDICEA - Nutrient Budgeting Tool for Crop Rotations

NDICEA is a free digital tool developed by the Louis Bolk Institute for modelling nutrient balances in crop rotations at the field scale. It assesses changes in nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium under various management practices such as fertiliser use, tillage, seed rates, and ley break timing. Applied to seven organic farms, it revealed negative nutrient balances in most fields, except where long-term compost or manure applications improved retention. Spring ley breaks and reduced or no-till practices significantly enhanced nutrient retention, while digestate provided a viable alternative to rock phosphate. The tool supports sustainable arable and organic farming by identifying strategies to correct imbalances and reduce losses. It is accessible at http://www.ndicea.nl/.