The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue announced on June 12 that under the National Liming Programme, there will be a further extension to the date in which lime can be spread.
What does this mean for farmers? With the deadline extended until October 31, 2024, farmers now have an extended opportunity to correct their soil fertility and pH.
Liming is an essential part of maintaining an optimum soil fertility status, which will drive grass growth and production on your farm.
Liming is even more important in recent times, as with the introduction of the National Fertiliser Database and the monitoring of what fertiliser you spread, it is crucial that you spread lime to reduce fertiliser usage.
Benefits of liming
Liming has many benefits as it can release up to 70kg of soil nitrogen (N)/ha/year, which will therefore reduce the need for chemical N in the ground.
Liming is best known for increasing the soil’s pH, which can lead to an extra 10-15% in grass growth.
According to Teagasc, spreading lime on dairy farm gives you a 700% return on investment, as every €1 worth of lime that is spread, you get a return of €7.
Liming also has its environmental benefits, as due to the amount of N it releases, it therefore reduces the amount of greenhouse (GHG) gasses produced.
Lime application
A farm liming plan should be done, as it will help determine which fields on the farm require lime and how much will be needed on each field.
By taking soil samples, you will be able to identify where lime is needed, and when and at what rate it should be applied.
The ideal soil pH for growing grass is 6.5-7, so, paddocks under this will require lime.
When applying lime , you should not put out more than 7.5t/ha in a single application and if there is a recommendation to spread more than 7.5t/h, spread 50% now and 50% in two years time.
The beauty of lime is that if the weather allows for it, it can be spread at any time of the year.
Lime should be spread with plenty time between application and closing for grass silage. If you are picking up silage with lime still coated on it, it can affect good preservation conditions.
Application of cattle slurry should be done seven to 10 days before lime spreading to reduce the amount of N lost as applying slurry after lime has been applied can result in a loss of up to 50% of the available slurry N.
The same applies when spreading urea. However, early trials suggest that protected urea can be applied to fields that have received lime recently.
If lime has already been spread, the recommendation is to allow for three months between spreading slurry and urea.