Teagasc has called on farmers to put a renewed focus on optimising soil fertility, as 2026 is shaping up to be another costly year for farming on the fertiliser front.

The authority has said that while improvements have been made on bettering soil fertility, there remains plenty of farmland on which fertiliser could be used more efficiently if management areas such as soil pH were addressed.

Only one in every four soil samples analysed by Teagasc in 2025 were at index 3 or 4 for both phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), in addition to having a pH above the target of 6.2.

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While this was an improvement on the equivalent percentage for the samples assessed in 2024, the number of samples submitted by farmers declined substantially, particularly those submitted from drystock farms.

Overview

An overview of these analyses is available on Teagasc’s new soil analysis status and trends online dashboard that the authority’s head of knowledge transfer Stan Lalor has said will “support better decision-making at farm, advisory and policy level”.

“The dashboard highlights that while progress is being made, a large proportion of Irish soils remain below optimal fertility levels,” Lalor commented.

“Improving soil fertility represents a major opportunity to increase farm profitability while also delivering environmental benefits through better nutrient use efficiency.”

Teagasc said that the dashboard’s figures confirm that soil fertility reflects “long-term management decisions and cumulative nutrient balances” rather than short-term changes in fertiliser use.

Correcting soil pH remains a critical first step in improving nutrient availability and nitrogen use efficiency, Teagasc said.