The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has announced an extension today (Thursday, November 7) for phase 3 of the Soil Sampling and Analysis Programme.
The original date of midnight on Wednesday, November 6 has been extended until Friday, November 15, in order to give farmers and advisors more time to prepare and submit applications.
As announced in Budget 2025, this phase of the programme has the potential to take an estimated 40,000 additional samples from farms all over the country.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue said: “Soil sampling is the initial step to accurately determine the status and availability of nutrients in the soil.
“Information is key for farmers to make critical decisions on nutrient applications in order to produce grass or tillage crops in a sustainable manner”.
Soil sampling programme
The farm level soil sampling and analysis initiative will provide participating farmers and their advisors with comprehensive details about the nutrient status, soil organic matter levels and indicators of soil health on their farms.
According to DAFM these results can be used to target soil management and farming practices to achieve economic and environmental sustainability on farms.
The information collected will provide the basis for the next generation of soil-specific nutrient management advice and underpin targeted fertiliser and organic manure applications across all farming systems in the country.
Minister of State, Pippa Hackett has also welcomed the extension. Minister Hackett said:
“This programme covers the cost of up to 16 individual soil samples per holding. I would strongly encourage farmers to apply, as soil sampling will ultimately help farmers to make more targeted management decisions and reduce their reliance on expensive chemical inputs”.
Applications can be made through the agfood website, where full details and terms and conditions are available.