b'Factors influencing Nutrient Management Practices onAgricultural Catchment FarmsMcCormack M1 and Buckley C21Agricultural Catchments Programme, Teagasc, Johnstown Castle Environment Research Centre, Wexford, Co. Wexford, Ireland2Agricultural Economics and Farm Surveys, Teagasc, Athenry, Co. Galway, IrelandThe Agricultural sector will play a key role in reaching the goals set out in The Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC (WFD). Although some progress has been made the 2015 deadline for reaching the goals of maintaining high status waterbodies and increasing the status of all other water bodies to at least good water status has passed without success and the timeline for these objectives moved forward to the next two cycles 2021/2027. Now more than ever,policymakers need to understand the motivations of key participants of which farmers play an important role. This study investigates whether the use of a Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) can be useful in predicting farmer acceptance of two nutrient management practices, soiltesting and nutrient management planning which have the potential to contribute to water quality improvements. Factor analysis on a survey of farmers involved in the TeagascAgricultural Catchments Programme (ACP) reveals two specific variables which arehypothesised to be fundamental determinants of user acceptance: Perceived Usefulness (PU) and Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU). Both variables are found to be significant in predicting farmer intention to use and are subsequently included in a model to investigate key drivers ofconvergence to optimal soil phosphorus levels. The research suggests that farmers whoconverge to optimal P levels (soil P index 3) from soil P index 4 perceive soil testing and nutrient management planning useful and easy to use but there is no significant relationship on farms operating below optimal levels of soil P index 1 and 2.36'