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Farmers in the southeast of NI will be the first to be offered access to the new soil nutrient health scheme to be delivered by the Agri-food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI).
However, while there is to be some pilot work done this winter, it looks like it will now be 2022/23 before the free scheme kicks off in earnest.
In correspondence sent to the Stormont Agriculture committee, DAERA officials have confirmed the scheme will be rolled out over the next five years across four different zones.
Zone 1 covers farmers in the southeast, with soil samples taken in 2022/23. In the following year, farms in the northeast will be targeted, and then in 2024/25 it will be the turn of farms in the northwest.
As well as establishing the nutrient status of fields, samples will also be taken to assess the carbon content of soil
That means farmers in the southwest will be last to avail of the scheme in 2025/26.
As well as establishing the nutrient status of fields, samples will also be taken to assess the carbon content of soil. Around 700,000 soil samples are expected to be collected across NI over the five-year period.
I hear the southwest is going to be last
The scheme is set to cost approximately £37m, although at present, DAERA has identified that there is a shortfall of £9.47m in funding which “the Department intends to address through budget schemes”.
“I hear the southwest is going to be last. Hopefully money will still be around,” said Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA Rosemary Barton.
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