Report Highlights Critical Need for Soil Analysis and Improved Grass U
A Sustainable Agricultural Land Management Strategy for Northern Ireland entitled ‘Delivering Our Future, Valuing Our Soils’ highlights the critical need for improved soil analysis and grass utilisation for the future growth of the agri-food sector here.
The strategy, which was recently presented to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), was delivered by an independent Expert Working group set up in 2014 as part of the Agri-Food Strategy Board’s ‘Going for Growth’ report. The Going for Growth report emphasised that agricultural productivity must be considered in conjunction with environmental concerns.
A series of issues for concern were revealed by the working group. These included the fact that grass utilisation is significantly below optimal levels in Northern Ireland; less than 10% of our farmland has an up-to-date soil analysis; and 64% of our soils are not at an optimal pH.
Improving the health of Northern Ireland’s soils has been deemed the central part of the Land Management Strategy – as good quality soil is central to our ability to deliver more, higher quality crops and grass. These higher quality raw materials and inputs will enable the local agri-food sector to reach the ambitious growth targets set out in the ‘Going for Growth’ report.
Whilst there has been some shift towards increasing grass yields locally, we are far behind our neighbours in the Republic of Ireland when it comes to maximising this valuable resource. Moving forward, the strategy outlines targets for our grassland farmers to increase their grass utilisation by at least one tonne of dry matter per hectare and also to make improvements in grass and silage quality of 5 to 8 %.
The tables below highlight what the impact of achieving these targets would be for the beef and dairy sectors (analysis carried out by AFBI).
Dairy Sector
Dairy Sector | Current Average Non-Derogated Dairy Farm Performance | Current Average Farm, utilising 1 extra tonne of average quality Dry Matter of Grass, per hectare | Current Average Farm, utilising 1 extra tonne of good quality Dry Matter of Grass, per hectare |
Whole Farm P. Balance (kg P/ha/year) | 11.3 | 4.2 | 3.0 |
Net Change in Profit if Milk price is 18p per litre | N/A | + £120 / ha / year | + £279 / ha / year |
Net Change in Profit if Milk price is 28p per litre | N/A | + £45 /ha / year | + £334 / ha / year |
Dairy Sector
Beef Sector | Current Average Non-Derogated Dairy Farm Performance | Current Average Farm, utilising 1 extra tonne of average quality Dry Matter of Grass, per hectare | Current Average Farm, utilising 1 extra tonne of good quality Dry Matter of Grass, per hectare |
Whole Farm P. Balance (kg P/ha/year) | 1.93 | 2.03 | 0.69 |
Net Change in Profit if Beef Price is 280p/ kg | N/A | + £115 / ha / year | + £137 / ha / year |
Net Change in Profit if Beef Price is 380p/ kg | N/A | + £171 /ha / year | + £204 / ha / year |
This analysis shows that improving our grass utilisation and quality will bring a range of benefits: it will give farmers access to greater profitability, whilst significantly lowering phosphorous levels on our farms. The expert view is that increased famr profitability and improved environmental performance can be achieved side by side.
The Expert Working Group outlines several recommendations – including a widespread soil sampling exercise in NI, at 2 hectare intervals. Currently regular soil analysis is required under phosphate regulations and should be carried out every four years across the farm. In practice it can be more manageable to test a quarter of the farm each year. Once soil levels for phosphorous (P) and potassium (K) have been determined, fertiliser levels can be adjusted to meet individual field requirements. This means that savings can be made on fertiliser application while maintaining crop yields at higher levels.
The report also notes that the application of lime is essential to optimise the pH of agricultural land – another key soil analysis figure. The target figure should be a minimum of 6.2 for grass and 6.5 for arable crops to improve the efficiency of fertiliser and slurry applied. The best approach is to bring your pH up to the correct level and then apply a high quality liming product like Granucal each year to maintain pH at the optimum level.
Current reseeding levels in NI are very low at around 2-3% -falling far below the target of 10%. The report recommends that in future regular reseeding should be undertaken across Northern Ireland’s grassland resource (20% of rotational grasslands and 5% of permanent grasslands.) These figures would equate to reseeding 30,000 hectares of temporary grassland and 27,500 hectares of permanent grassland every year.
Grass is our most important crop and it will bring benefits to the entire agri-food sector and beyond if its potential is fully harnessed. A partnership approach between industry and government will be essential to deliver on this strategy, and we look forward to seeing its implementation.