FOR CERTIFIED FERTILIZER ADVISERS1

Improving fertilizer practice at the level of the agricultural adviser and grower has become closely linked with a number of diverse public issues that would not have been associated with fertilizer use some 25 years ago. As governments implement policy decisions that change how we use plant nutrients, environmental regulation and health issues are balanced with the need to provide food security at a global level (Windridge 1998). Environment, health, food security: these are all issues that that most people will have strong opinions about and it is in all of our interests that views are not, and do not become, ill-informed or distorted. If agricultural advisers can provide an assurance that they are being kept up to date on new technologies and management methods then it is perceived that they are responsible enough to deal with maximizing resource efficiency. The aim of this paper is to show that one of the most important routes for the development of technical information transfer in agricultural industry is from the research community (past and present) to the adviser profession. Access to agricultural and environmental information is more open than ever before in the UK (DETR 1998) and it is obviously in the interests of the management of agricultural companies to be kept up to date and informed on latest research and policy developments. Agricultural fertilizer use in the UK is increasingly being regulated by policies that are enacted to maintain or improve air, water and soil quality (MAFF 199