Tipperary is home to the Golden Vale, which boasts some of the best agricultural lands in the country. Extending into counties Cork and Limerick, this rich pastoral area, found in the River Suir basin, is considered ideal for dairy farming.

The River Suir drains the southern portion of the county and tributaries of the River Shannon provide drainage in the north. Overall, the landscape of Co Tipperary is quite varied.

The central area can be described as limestone glacial till lowlands, the majority of which is characterised with luvisol soils (downward clay movement). In other areas, such as around Thurles and to the north of Nenagh, the landscape is wetter and soils tend to be more water-affected.

Upland sandstone

Outside of the lowland areas, the county is bordered with several hilly and mountainous regions. The Silvermines and Devilsbit Mountains in the north are comprised of upland sandstone, shale and slate bedrock.

Podzols (acidic nutrient poor) and peat soils are typical at the higher altitudes, with brown podzolics (slightly acidic free-draining) more common further downslope.

The Galtymore (Galtee) Mountains, shared with Limerick in the southwest, are comprised of shale bedrock and blanket peat is a feature at the top.

The Knockmealdown Mountains in the south are composed of upland sandstone rocks and these reflect the typical soil sequence associated with a mountain scape – podzols and peat at the highest altitude, with brown podzolics further downslope and with surface-water gleys (slowly permeable sub-surface layer) on the lower slopes.

Luvisols account for half of the soils in Co Tipperary and can be widely found in both the north and the south of the county. These are good agricultural soils due to their higher clay content, which means that they retain nutrients well.

However, the increase in clay in the subsoil can slow down the movement of water through the soil. This means that they can be moderately to imperfectly draining, depending on the soil texture.

Best suited for grass production

The most commonly found luvisols in this county are the ‘Elton’ series (found in association 1000a and 1000c led by subgroup 1000). The ‘Elton’ series are considered well-draining and as a result have a wide use-range. Overall, they are considered best suited for grass production, but they can be easily tilled for crop production. Brown earths are the second most prevalent soil type found. In particular, these are found along the Waterford border and to the west and the southeast of Nenagh in the north. The majority of these are ‘Broomhill’ series (found in association 1100s led by subgroup 1100). These are well-drained soils and are also very suited to grassland and a wide range of arable crops. The favourable climate, coupled with the free-draining nature of the soils here, means that the potential grass utilisation is high over a long season.