A parameterization of the temporal variation of ammonia (NH3) emission into the atmosphere is proposed. The parameterization relies on several simple submodels reflecting emission from stores and barns, agricultural practice in application of manure, and emission from grown crops. Some of the submodels depend on a simple crop growth model, which again depends on temperature variations throughout the year. The parameterization reflects the differences in agricultural practices, differences in the climate due to latitude/longitude, and differences in meteorological conditions between years. Measured as well as modeled meteorology can be applied by the parameterization, which is developed for use down to single farm level as well as in large-scale physical/statistical Eulerian and Lagrangian air pollution models. The parameterization is based on simple principles and is applied for northwestern Europe. The simple principles ensure that the parameterization may be adapted to other climatic conditions. The proposed parameterization is considered as a large improvement compared to previous simpler models with fixed seasonal variation.