Nitrogen (N) utilisation must be optimised to ensure food security and mitigate negative externalities of agricultural activities at the same time. This study investigated the level of Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), an agri-environmental indicator for assessing and monitoring N utilisation on farms, of the German agricultural sector and its regional and structural determinants. About 25,000 observations on NUE between 2017 and 2022 were grouped into farm-types based on Farm Accountancy Data Network, showing the lowest NUE for dairy farms and the highest for permanent crop farms on average. Also, we developed an explanatory model with a robust multiple regression technique to identify significant interrelations between NUE and regional patterns (e.g. altitude), farm structure (e.g. manure type, crop selection) and drought events (e.g. adaptation of N management). Hence, we aim to support policymakers in designing targeted policies for mitigating agricultural N emissions and achieving (inter-)national environmental, climate and sustainability goals.
