Grassland and Forage

Lime – increases farm productivity while reducing fertiliser costs

Correcting soil pH is an old but vital farm practice that delivers both productivity and environmental benefits. Maintaining optimum soil pH of 6.3 to 6.5 on mineral soils increases the biological soil activity and availability of major nutrients such as nitrogen (N) thus reducing the need for imported chemical fertiliser. Soil test results show that […]
1 July 2026

Sustainable use of nitrogen fertilisers on cattle farms

Agriculture has a requirement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2030, relative to 2018. To date agriculture has reduced emission by 4.6% since 2018. Meeting emission reductions will be challenging over the next 5 years. The Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC) developed by Teagasc sets out a menu of actions that farmers can […]
1 July 2026

Management of red and white clover in Irish beef grass-based systems

There has been a significant renewed interest in the role of legumes – both white and red clover – on Irish grassland farms in recent years, with seed sales having increased to 353 t and 131 t for white and red clover, respectively, equating to a 40% increase in 2025 from 2020. The main benefits […]
1 July 2026

Benefits of paddock grazing in beef systems

Grazing infrastructure is the farm layout and physical structures (roadways, fencing and water system). Optimal grazing infrastructure facilitates good pasture management practices to maximise days at grass and increases pasture utilisation in a rotational grazing system. Target pasture management practices: Enter paddocks at a pre-grazing herbage yield of 1,250-1,500 kg dry matter (DM)/hectare (ha) (9-10 […]
1 July 2026

Making quality silage on beef farms

Irish cattle systems rely heavily on our competitive advantage – producing high yields of high nutritive value grazed grass. However, although emphasis must be placed on maximising the proportion of grazed grass in the diet, there is a significant part of the year on most Irish farms where grass silage will constitute part or all […]
1 July 2026

Effective reseeding and use of the Pasture Profit Index

Regular reseeding of pastures enables farmers to produce higher yields of better-quality grass, improving feed self-sufficiency and enhancing overall farm sustainability. It is recommended that 10% of the farm be reseeded annually. Current reseeding rates are estimated to be only 2% of the total grassland area. Although reseeding costs are substantial, currently estimated at €1,100/hectare […]
1 July 2026

Improving water quality in Irish agriculture – A shared responsibility

In Ireland, water policy and management is led by the Water Framework Directive. Under this directive, Ireland has been set a target of achieving at least ‘good status’ for all Irish waters by 2027. However, despite a lot of good work over the last 20-30 years we are falling short in achieving this target; in […]
1 July 2026

Using AgNav to review the performance of the Future Beef suckler demonstration farms

Demonstration farmers are signed up to the Signpost Advisory Programme and AgNav. AgNav is a digital sustainability platform that helps Irish farmers measure, understand, and reduce their farms environmental impact by tracking emissions and guiding sustainability improvements. These farmers use AgNav to review their progress in adopting emissions-reducing technologies and to track their farm emissions […]
1 July 2026

Soil carbon on agricultural soils

What is soil carbon and carbon sequestration? Soil carbon refers to the carbon stored within soils, mainly as soil organic matter (SOM), which is derived from decomposed plant material and microbial biomass. It is a vital component of healthy soils, helping to maintain fertility, support biodiversity, and sustain ecosystem functions. As the largest terrestrial carbon […]
1 July 2026