Some €10m was allocated for a national soil sampling programme in the budget, which will establish the national baseline fertility of Irish soils and identify lands suitable for rewetting.

It will also establish the national baseline for soil organic carbon in order to target environmental and climate interventions.

“This information will help in identifying soils suitable for a land management strategy; for example, rewetting from a carbon storage perspective and from nutrient losses to water. It will provide farmers with the scientific evidence-based tools to protect and improve soil health,” a Department of Agriculture spokesperson told the Irish Farmers Journal.

A pilot farm environmental study will also take place which will collect baseline environmental data across Irish farms.

“From a farmer’s perspective, the [study] will provide the biodiversity baseline for their holding.

“From a policy perspective, the information collected through the [study] will be used in the design of policy interventions such as eco-schemes and future [agri-environment climate measures],” the spokesperson said.

€10m for tillage

Meanwhile, tillage farmers will be paid to chop straw from cereal crops and then plough it into the ground under a new €10m scheme for the sector announced under Budget 2021.

The spokesperson said that increasing the soil organic carbon levels of arable soils has been identified in the Teagasc MACC curve as a carbon sequestration action.

“The purpose of the measure will be to encourage tillage farmers to increase soil organic carbon levels by chopping and incorporating straw from cereal crops. This will sequester carbon in tillage soils. The incorporation of straw will also have a positive impact on soil biology and soil workability,” the spokesperson said, adding that the measure will be drafted and stakeholders will be consulted.