Thank you to everyone who took the time to attend the Soilcrates Living Lab meeting in the Cross Village Digital Hub on Saturday the 17th May 2025 – this was once again a huge success and we gained invaluable information regarding some of the soil challenges our local farmers are currently facing.

Below is a run down of the challenges discussed.

The aim of the meeting was to get a more precise idea of what soil challenges farmers are experiencing so that trials can be explored to find solutions.

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Challenges:

Overall, compaction of the soil seems to be the biggest underlying issue for farmers, with many further challenges stemming from the impact of this.

It also seems to be further aggravated by two major factors (a) the depth of soil being so low – and (b) the quality of soil (i.e. not enough organic matter or aeration etc).

Some of the notes taken included the following:

Yellow and Blue Clay, compaction a big issues, overall soakage and fertility balance is challenging – surface water not getting away – soil cold in spring hampering growth.
Poor drainage, resulting in water logging and inability of nutrients to get down into the soil - all resulting in slow growth and further issues.
Chemical run off into waterways is a big issue – again due to the compaction.
Loss of nutrients also due to run off – due to the compaction and poor drainage.
Derogation - how we are going to manage it when eventually this special dispensation for Ireland is removed and we are stopped from exceeding the limits.
Geographic surveys being carried out have now resulted in letters being sent from the Dept to farmers saying that if their land parcel falls into what they deem ‘peat land’, they are even further restricted on how they use / manage that piece of land.
Nutrient management plan – particularly challenging due to the various issues outlined above and not easy when one field might have a variety of challenges in itself.
It was noted that slurry really should be tested before it goes out – or the balance can be off when it reaches the land – if you can test the nutrient level in the slurry first then you can match / balance the amount of fertiliser that goes out with it – HOWEVER it was also pointed out that in order for this to be accurate you’d need to be testing in exactly the same conditions every time.
Housing animals in Sept/Oct/Nov because of weather means that there are full tanks – the farmers can’t empty them in December which poses a huge challenge – also the tanks must have capacity in December for your yard run offs.
Poor and compacted soil isn’t withstanding the weight of the vehicles on the land – and if the weather is damp, the damage to the soil (again compaction) is even worse.
It was noted that some farmers are not as fond of the dribble bar, as it leaves a trail of sludge – which (not helped by compaction) isn’t going anywhere – and is not helping growth – and this poses big problems for the second cut of sileage, in particular.
In terms of slurry spreading – strict dates system is restrictive and in fact is not at all practical because it needs to be decided by weather. A Traffic Light System is operational in the UK (when its red you cannot spread slurry, amber means you can do so cautiously and green is good to go) and it seems to be a good system because it is based on weather and ground conditions rather than specific date periods.

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Finally - we will be in touch soon regarding THE NEXT STEPS particularly for those interested in applying for particular trials.

Joining the Living Lab is a good idea regardless of your level of participation as it will keep you updated from a central source - regarding trials, educational webinars, farm walks and so on.

You can register as a member by following this link >>>> Membership | Soilcrates Ireland