Grolime is the voluntary certified trademark under which companies who meet necessary criteria are authorised to promote and sell their ground limestone.
Irish farmers are constantly adapting to evolving technologies, regulatory requirements and guidance.
Indeed, farmers are currently adapting to the many challenges posed by the high levels of rainfall since last July that severely hampered recent spring farm operations.
The impact of the weather on agricultural lime usage since last summer was acknowledged by the Minister for Agriculture, Charlie McConalogue, who announced an extension to the deadline by which lime purchased under the National Liming Programme 2023 must be spread to June 28.
This action provides a further incentive for farmers to take every opportunity during the growing season to apply agricultural lime to land, provided soil and weather conditions are suitable.
It is important to remember that lime can be spread at any time of the year. Traditionally, the majority of lime was only applied towards the back-end of the year, but that is no longer the case.
Liming plan
A suitable liming plan will identify opportunities for lime application over the course of the entire farming year, depending on suitable land conditions and the availability of land.
The liming plan will identify where lime is needed, and when and at what rate lime should be applied.
Waiting until the late season, when Ireland’s rainfall is typically higher, to apply lime will generally result in poorer and less trafficable soil conditions and the opportunity to apply lime could be missed.
Therefore, Teagasc has advised farmers to apply lime earlier in the year when soil and weather condition are usually more favourable, thereby capitalising on the benefits of liming to use nitrogen (N) more efficiently and to help reduce the total farm N requirements.
An ideal time to apply lime, is once fields have been grazed-off and grass covers are low. Applying lime to low grass covers will reduce the risk of lime residues as rainfall generally washes most of the lime from the grass down to the soil.
Where a small amount of lime remains on the leaf, it will not affect grazing animals. Notwithstanding the wet spring this year, grass covers on farms tend to be lowest from April to August, which presents a good opportunity for lime application.
The timing of lime spreading should also take into the application of slurry and chemical fertilisers.
According to Teagasc, lime should be applied seven to 10 days after the application of slurry to avoid any loss of N from the slurry. Similarly, lime should be applied seven to 10 days after the application of urea fertiliser to reduce the risk of N losses.
While fertiliser prices have eased compared to previous years, optimising soil pH with the use of lime ensures that applied N, phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) are used as efficiently as possible.
In addition, lime increases the availability of key nutrients that are already in the soil for plant uptake leading to improved Nitrogen Use Efficiency.
Applying lime increases grass production annually by releasing up to 80kg more N/ha/year, unlocking soil P and K and increasing the response to freshly applied N, P and K.
Therefore, with improved weather conditions hopefully on the way, it is important for farmers to seize every opportunity during the growing season to spread lime, provided soil conditions are suitable.
Waiting until next winter may result in less trafficable soil conditions and the opportunity to improve soil pH and enhance the efficient use of N on farms could be missed.
Grolime
There are currently 15 companies operating from 30 locations certified as ‘Grolime’ suppliers.
All Grolime certified suppliers are licenced by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) to manufacture and sell ground limestone for use as a soil conditioner in Ireland.
All Grolime certified companies undergo independent twice-yearly testing for Total Neutralising Value, Moisture Value and Grading, in line with the national specification for ground limestone.
To find your nearest registered Grolime supplier, go to the “Producers” section on www.grolime.ie
