Key deadlines are approaching under both the National Liming Programme and the Soil Sampling and Analysis Programme.
Participants have until next Tuesday (October 31) to submit invoices marked paid under the National Liming Programme for volumes of lime purchased.
This had also been the deadline by which lime had to be delivered and spread on farm. However, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue announced flexibility on that requirement earlier this month.
The minister said that, once invoices are submitted by October 31, farmers will have until March 31, 2024, to spread the lime.
In announcing that flexibility, the minister said he recognises that that weather conditions during 2023 resulted in significant challenges to the spreading of lime which diminished opportunities to avail of this support.
“To address this challenge, I am today providing important flexibility for farmers that purchase lime in 2023 but spread it when ground conditions are more optimum which could be into early 2024,” Minister McConalogue said.
He added: “This will allow latitude to farmers to purchase lime but await delivery and spreading until conditions allow, with the latest for spreading being March 31, 2024.”
Soil sampling
Meanwhile, farmers in the Soil Sampling and Analysis Programme have until Monday (October 30) to submit their applications.
The Soil Sampling and Analysis programme is aimed at” “putting soil health, soil fertility and soil carbon at the very centre of the future agricultural model”.
The aim of this phase of the scheme is to enable better surveillance of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) at a national and regional level, by screening for the presence of E. coli.
Announcing this phase of the scheme, Minister McConalogue said: “Nutrient management and soil health are central to achieving economic and environmental sustainability on farms and are therefore high priorities for my department and form part of our commitments.”