Can we reduce fertiliser use and maintain farm profitability? The environmental credentials of Irish agriculture are being challenged like never before. We know that there are many ways farmers can build on improvements already made.

Grass measurement, animal breeding, clover and multispecies grassland offer opportunities for livestock farmers to reduce their impact on the environment, while crop rotation and cover crops have a key role to play for tillage farmers.

Ag Climatise, the agriculture sector’s policy for climate change targets, identifies and supports these measures.

There is an urgent need for change as under the EU’s Green Deal and Farm to Fork strategies, there is a target to reduce nutrient losses to water by 50% by 2030 and fertiliser use by 20%.

These objectives are a tremendous opportunity for us here in Ireland to show we can protect and improve our environment while producing top-quality food. Research and soil analysis have shown that there is great scope for us to make better use of fertiliser on farms.

In reality, there are three sources of fertiliser but sometimes we only think of what comes into the farmyard in pallets and don’t pay enough attention to what we have in our slurry tanks or our dungsteads and we have ground to make up on what occurs naturally in the soil itself.

Chemical fertiliser

Starting with chemical fertiliser, we already know that unless we have lime status, phosphorus and potassium at the right levels, nitrogen can’t work effectively.

Also, there are many other elements such as boron and sulphur which maximise the efficiency of applied fertiliser. Based on soil test results, there is plenty of room for improvement here.

Slurry and farmyard manure, and indeed all organic fertilisers, are valuable sources of nutrients that are often undervalued and still treated as a waste to be dumped rather than a nutrient that will actually help improve soil structure.

Simple steps that we can take start with having sufficient slurry storage capacity so that slurry can be spread during the growing season.

Dribble bars and trailing shoes maximise the use of nitrogen in slurry and, in an ideal world, all slurry in Ireland would be spread using this equipment.

Spreading slurry on fields that need phosphorus and potassium makes best use of these expensive nutrients.

The final source of fertiliser and, most important of all, is the soil itself.

We need to focus on increasing microbiological activity in the soil and improving soil health and structure. We need soil to store and release nutrients, filter water, sequester carbon and act as a growth medium.

You can’t build a great building on a weak foundation. Having the soil healthy and active is the foundation for us to have a strong vibrant agricultural industry.

The target to reduce fertiliser should be seen as an opportunity for Irish agriculture. We can start making changes this year which will benefit the environment, allow us to be credible in our environmental claims and, ultimately, keep money in farmers’ pockets.