Almost 8,000 applications have been made to the pilot soil sampling programme announced by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) recently.
As of last Friday (October 1), there were approximately 7,800 applications to the €10 million pilot Soil Sampling and Analysis Programme, demonstrating that the programme is proving popular with farmers.
DAFM said that it is expected that this will allow approximately 100,000 samples to be analysed with a maximum of 16 samples per farm.
Soil sampling programme
The programme is aimed at putting soil carbon, soil health and fertility at the centre of our future agricultural model.
The DAFM said that soils will play an important role in meeting our water, air, climate and biodiversity targets of both the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and Green Deal.
The programme is expected to provide farmers with critical information to make farm management decisions, from improving nutrient use efficiency to soil carbon levels in soils.
Advisors are being be upskilled to assist farmers in translating the results of the programme into practical guidance.
Benefits of pilot programme
According to DAFM, the incentive for the farmer is to receive comprehensive soil analysis reports with next generation data which, along with advisory support, will be used as a soil management tool on the farm.
The farmer does not receive a monetary payment, however the soil sampling programme, at field scale, will provide the basis for soil-specific nutrient management advice, and underpin targeted fertiliser and organic manure applications, according to the department.
Understanding the link between animal health and soil health, especially with the focus on soil pathogen assessment, also provides farmers with the information to adapt strategies to minimise antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Applications for the pilot programme on agfood.ie will remain open until Friday, October 8, 2021, with soil sampling expected to commence by the start of November.
DAFM has said: “If the programme is oversubscribed, applicants will be selected on first come first serve basis, but using geographic regions and enterprise type.”