Young growers more likely to test soil fertility say Teagasc
Teagasc has also found a direct link between formal education and a likelihood of a farmer conducting regular soil fertility tests.
A concern from soil test data is the decline in soil phosphorus levels over the last decade with the majority of grassland (61%) and tillage (59%) having having suboptimal P fertility.
Teagasc director Gerry Boyle, said: “A study of dairy farmers has shown that those dairy farmers that test their soil regularly are younger, have larger farms and herd sizes and have higher farm-gross margins and gross output compared to those who do not regularly test.
"Farmers with formal education are four times more likely to test their soils.”
Over the last 10 years, Teagasc has analysed 38,500 soil samples annually for its farmer clients.
Overall, soil test results for 2015 show that about 90% of samples have sub-optimal fertility status.
Currently 64% of grassland soils and 45% of tillage soils have below optimum soil pH (pH 6.3 for efficient grassland production and pH 6.5 for tillage crops).
