Implications of the EU green energy policy on financial performance of crop production and water management of topsoil

Generous subsidies granted in recent years by EU to promote the green energy policy and also to counterbalance changes in agricultural policies of the new member states have resulted, among other things, in development of numerous heating plants that utilize agricultural residues. With no previous experience, farmers are offered ash in unprecedented amounts as a cheap source of nutrients. A robust technical and economic analysis of the ash and its interactions with topsoil was carried out in a commercial scale in the course of 4 vegetation seasons. It has been proved that high doses of ash worsen water management of topsoil, specifically its susceptibility to erosion. Based on the result, a new economically justified method has been proposed which allows utilization of nutrients contained in the ash without jeopardizing quality indicators of the topsoil.