Cheshire farmers are being offered the chance to bid in a reverse auction to undersow their maize with grass or other crops.
Farmers with land in sensitive groundwater safeguard zones, which are used for the abstraction of drinking water, are invited to take part in the auction.
It aims to help reduce nitrates leaching into the groundwater during winter.
The reverse auction, which opens in April, is being run by United Utilities using EnTrade, an online platform that facilitates environmental improvements.
Farmers can bid the price they’re willing to be paid to under-sow their maize.
Dr Kate Snow, United Utilities’ Southern Catchment Manager, explained that forage maize is a crop where the potential for nitrate leaching to water is high.
This is due to the high rates of nitrogen applied both from inorganic fertilisers and heavy applications of slurries and farm yard manures.
In addition to nitrate loss, there are other environmental and water quality issues associated with late harvesting of maize and with bare soil left exposed over winter, she said.
"Heavy autumn and winter rains cause soil erosion, phosphorus loss, soil sediment loss and the potential for pesticide pollution of surface water," Dr Snow added.
“Under-sowing maize with grass or other crops reduces soil erosion, improves soil health and provides a useful additional crop.
"The technique of establishing a ‘nurse crop’ of grass during the maize establishment period is considered to be a valuable method for providing a post-harvest ‘mop’ to reduce nitrate loss through the soil profile,” she said.
The auction, which closes on 24 April, allows the price that United Utilities pays to be determined by the farmers who participate based on their price per hectare and the resulting nitrogen saving.
Farmers can also choose whether they under-sow when maize drilling or at the four-leaf stage once the maize is established.
During the auction farmers will be able to see where their bid sits in comparison to others.
