Soil Sampling and Analysis Programme Phase 3 Opens

Oct 18, 2024 | Climate Change, Farm Viability

A recent announcement in Budget 2025 for extra funding for the Soil Sampling and Analysis Programme was broadly welcomed. Phase 3 of the Programme is now open for applications. It is estimated that an additional 40,000 samples will be taken from a broad spectrum of farm types across the country.

The previous two phases of the programme helped put soil health, soil fertility and soil carbon at the centre of the Irish agricultural model. So far, Irish farmers have taken and submitted over 170,000 soil samples. This has helped the Soil Sampling and Analysis Programme to establish a comprehensive national baseline on the status and health of Irish soils across all farming systems.

Commenting on the opening of Phase 3 of the programme, Minister of State, Pippa Hackett said “Taking soil samples and acting on the results can save money for farmers, and crucially it also helps farmers to improve soil health and water quality and reduce agricultural emissions. Soils are complex ecosystems that perform amazing functions, and this Programme will increase farmer awareness and understanding of their soils. This will ultimately help farmers to make more targeted management decisions and reduce their reliance on expensive chemical inputs.

This Soil Sampling and Analysis Programme will cover the cost of up to 16 individual soil samples for nutrient analysis, soil acidity, organic matter content and one test for surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) per farm. The closing date for farmer applications is the 6th of November 2024.

Soil is one of the most important resources in Irish agriculture and needs to be protected. The recognition of this fact has seen the establishment of a number of recent initiatives in Ireland.
The establishment of the Irish Soil Moisture Monitoring Network is providing Ireland with the necessary infrastructure to allow for the real-time reporting of a number of different climatic variables. Also, the National Agricultural Soil Carbon Observatory which involves measuring greenhouse gases emissions across a variety of Irish soil types will inform future policy and provide accurate data on how management practices impact our soil resource.

Applications can now be made through www.agfood.ie.

To learn more about innovations in soil protection in Ireland, go to our Innovation Hub by clicking here.

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