The Farm Sustainability Learning Hub Series 2024 is brought to you by Agriland Media Group in association with Bord Bia.
Bord Bia offers free, online learning for Bord Bia farm scheme members, through the Farm Sustainability Learning Hub.
In this article we look in more detail at the modules on soil health and water quality, developed in conjunction with Teagasc.
Soil health
The soil health module covers:
- How soil health can directly impact soil functionality;
- The key components of soil health;
- The best management practices to maintain or improve soil health.
Soil health is concerned with the physical, biological, and chemical properties of the soil. The module is therefore divided into these three topics: chemical, biological, and physical soil health.
Fact: There are more organisms in one teaspoon of healthy soil than there are people on earth.
Chemical health
Chemical health (or soil chemistry) refers to the level of nutrients present in the soil and soil pH. The topic looks at the benefits of liming, how to implement a nutrient management plan, and the soil health index.
Fact: Producing 1,000L of milk removes approximately 3kg of lime from the soil.
Soil Health Index
Soil fertility is ranked according to a soil index system. A soil test report will assess your soils’ rank from a range of one to four, index 1 is the lowest fertility level and index 4 is the highest.
Grassland farmers aim to achieve index 3 across phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) nutrients.
Biological health
Soil is made up of a variety of minerals, organic matter, and pore space that can be filled with air or water. In this topic, you will learn how the biological health of soil is assessed and what farm management practices can protect the health and quality of your soil.
Fact: Up to five million earthworms may be present in 1ha of grazed pasture.
Physical health
In this topic, you’ll learn about the physical aspects of soil such as soil structure. Structure is a key indicator of the physical health of soils and refers to the shape, size and development of soil structural units, also known as aggregates.
Soil structure is important for permeability and preventing soils from becoming waterlogged. A healthy structure provides a porous soil where roots can easily grow and spread to find nutrients.
Tip: Poaching is damage to grass and underlying soil caused by livestock compacting the land. Poaching or surface compaction can be managed by lower stocking densities in an area during wet weather.
Water quality
Did you know that Ireland has over 84,800km of river channels and more than 12,000 lakes? Compared to other countries, we do have enough water to meet demand.
However, since the 1980s there has been a deterioration in the number of good or pristine water sites in Ireland. This decline can be attributed to industry, urban and domestic waste, as well as agriculture.
The Water Quality module explores how agriculture can affect water quality as well as the best practices and measures at farm-level to improve water quality.
The module is divided into three topics:
- An introduction to water quality;
- Appropriate farming practices to protect water quality;
- Best practices and solutions to reduce pollution.
Fact: Half of all the endangered Freshwater Pearl Mussels in Europe live in Irish rivers.
In terms of farming practices, the module looks at best practice in slurry and fertiliser spreading, the use of chemical sprays, and the potential loss of nitrogen and phosphorus into watercourses.
A useful resource for farmers is the EPA’s Pollution Impact Potential (PIP) map which will identify if your farm is in a high risk area for potential loss of nitrogen or phosphorus to watercourses. In topic one, Q-status, you’ll find a video from the IFA’s Smart Farming programme, which will show you how to read these online maps.
Tip: Riparian Buffer Zones are land adjacent to rivers, streams and drains, which are fenced off from intensive production and have permanent vegetation. Properly designed and targeted buffer zones can have significant benefits for water quality and biodiversity.
Topic three looks at a farm example and gives actions that the farmer can take.
For any farmer in a high risk area, they must avoid blanket application of chemical fertiliser, apply slurry on lower index soils (i.e. low fertility), monitor predicted rainfalls when considering slurry and fertiliser application, and increase buffer zones in areas prone to run-off.
Further information on buffer zones and managing watercourses is available from Farming for Nature.
Learning Hub Series
Join the thousands of other farmers who have registered for the Farm Sustainability Learning Hub.
Visit farm.bordbia.ie to enroll in the Farm Sustainability Learning Hub.
You will be asked to enter your herd number and the pin number you received at your last audit. If you do not know this, there is a ‘forgot pin’ option that will text the pin to your mobile phone.