No Irish grass advantage without fertility

Soil fertility is essential for optimum production, but is one of the most neglected aspects of Irish farming.

Teagasc tests of almost 40,000 soil samples annually indicate we are applying less than half the amount of lime we applied in the 1970s. As a result, farmers get very much reduced value from fertilisers.

Teagasc figures from 2015 showed sub-optimal fertility in up to 90% of soil samples.