The Footprint Farmers have been busy with the usual work on the farm and also making changes to improve their farms’ sustainability, from spreading lime to grazing cover crops.

Just some of the work going on is outlined below.

Having received soil test results last spring and given the rise in fertiliser prices over the past year, farmers have been busy trying to optimise nutrients.

Cover crops

Gareth Culligan is a tillage farmer from Co Louth and when he joined the Footprint Farmers Programme, he noted he would like to incorporate livestock into his system to improve soil health.

Gareth now has sheep grazing on his cover crops.

The sheep will take away the bulk of the cover crop while also breaking down crops and making nutrients more available.

Pádraig Connery was taking advantage of the frost to role cover crops.

Pádraig Connery, Co Waterford, rolled some of his cover crops in the frost to break the crop down and make it easier to incorporate at planting time.

Spreading lime

Lime being spread on Kenneth Reid's farm in Co Limerick.

Kenneth Reid has spread lime on his farm to correct soil pH and make nutrients more available. Lime can be delivered and spread to farms at prices of approximately €22-26/t and can help to move phosphorus and potassium indices up.

A total 54% of soils on the Footprint Farms were at soil pH levels of 6.2 or below, 27% were at 6.3-6.5, 11% were at 6.5-6.9 and 7% were at soil pH levels of 7 or above.

Kenneth has also started to measure grass on his farm and has been using a plate meter. Both lime spreading and grass measuring, along with good management, will help Kenneth deal with high fertiliser prices in his beef and heifer rearing enterprises.

Hedge planting

Martin Crowe was busy planting hedges in Co Limerick.

Some of the farmers were busy planting hedgerows in recent months as well.

Martin Crowe in Co Limerick got the family out to help plant his hedgerow, while Pádraig Connery, Co Waterford went for a mainly whitethorn hedge with birch and sycamore trees scattered throughout, which will be left to grow up as trees.

Pádraig Connery planted a hedgerow on his farm in Co Waterford in February. He used mulch to cover the base of the hedge to prevent weeds growing up through the hedge.

Pádraig had some mulch available to him, so he used this to cover the base of the hedge to prevent weeds from growing through. Some farmers also use plastic.

Depending on plants purchased, prices will vary. On Tullamore Farm, the purchased whitethorn plants cost 75c each. Approximately five whitethorn plants were planted per metre, along with another plant like dog rose, oak, holly, guelder rose and willow.

Some of these plants were covered with a drainage pipe to protect the plant and allow them to grow up as a tree.

The plants for the hedge on Tullamore Farm cost approximately €4.85/m and silage plastic was used to prevent weeds from growing up through the hedgerow. Hedgerows can be planted up until St Patrick’s Day.