Having been formed in 1968, the Fertilizer Association of Ireland (FAI) recently launched its 50th year celebrations.
The focus of the celebrations in 2018 will be on promoting the efficient use of fertilizers for sustainable and profitable production on Irish farms.
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, attended the launch in Buswells Hotel, Dublin, yesterday (Thursday, January 25).
Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed
Minister Creed was joined by department officials as well as representatives from farm organisations, Teagasc and the fertilizer industry to hear about the busy programme of events the association has planned for the year ahead.
Speaking at the launch, president of the FAI PJ Browne said: “Since its inauguration in 1968, the Fertilizer Association of Ireland has been committed to promoting the efficient use of fertilizers to produce quality food in an economical and environmentally sustainable manner.
“The publication of the first code of good practice for fertilizer management, in 1990, is one example of FAI’s long history of leadership within the agricultural industry.”
Launching the celebration’s, Minister Creed said: “I welcome particularly the association’s theme for 2018, ‘Sustainability through efficient use of fertiliser’.
This will bring a focus on meeting food production targets while protecting the environment. Environmental sustainability must remain at the heart of agri-food policy.”
Meanwhile, poor soil fertility is a serious limitation to the production potential of our soils, the incoming FAI president for 2018, Peter Ging, explained.
Poor soil fertility “limits our ability to maximise our most competitive advantage in the market place – our ability to grow high yields of quality grass”, he said.
Ging outlined a comprehensive programme of events that the FAI will host for 2018.
“In our 50th year, we will provide training for merchants and agricultural contractors on the correct application of fertilisers – in addition to the continuous professional development training for advisory and technical sales reps [that] we provide in conjunction with Teagasc.”