Ireland’s largest ever soil sampling programme has completed with 145,000 samples taken from 10,500 Irish farms.

The Irish Soil Expert Consortium, which was managed by FRS Co-Op over the last two years, has completed the nationwide Soil Sampling and Analysis Programme.

More than 145,000 soil samples were taken from 10,500 Irish farms in 2024 and 2025, with independent quality assurance provided by Teagasc.

Soil sampling programme

FRS Co-Op developed a bespoke IT infrastructure for the programme and scaled a nationwide team of 85 staff to complete the soil sampling programme.

Field teams worked in partnership with farmers to schedule visits, ask pre-sampling questions (e.g. slurry spreading times, soil conditions, feasibility of land for sampling), and collect composite samples.

Coordinators operated out of Roscrea in Co. Tipperary, ensuring that all soil samples were received within a 72-hour turnaround from field to laboratory.

Each sample was tagged with a barcode and matched to the farmer’s land parcel, ensuring full traceability from farm to lab.

All soil samples were then delivered to one of the three approved laboratories operated by Southern Scientific Services, FBA Laboratories and Dairygold Analytical Services Laboratory.

Nationwide database

The results of the programme will provide the largest ever nationwide database of soil nutrients and soil carbon levels in Ireland.

It is expected this new database will help inform key actions to reduce carbon emissions in Irish agriculture in line with the sector's legally-binding 2030 targets as set out under the government’s Climate Action Plan, including reducing fertiliser usage, enhancing biodiversity and improving water quality.

The Soil Sampling and Analysis Programme will also provide data to monitor antimicrobial resistance on farms.

Colin Donnery, group CEO of FRS Co-Op, said the soil programme will allow farmers and policymakers "to make informed decisions to improve the sustainability and resilience of Irish farming, while also helping to reduce carbon emissions on farms".