7 September 2026

Are you making the most of the reports that are available to you?

Siobhan Kavanagh, Signpost Programme, Teagasc, and Bernard Hyde, EPA, fill us in on the judging process for the Teagasc FBD Environmental Sustainability Awards 2026, and encourage farmers to make better use of the data available to them.

We have reached the end of the judging process for the Teagasc FBD Environmental Sustainability Awards 2026. It has been a fantastic experience visiting these farms across the country and seeing their commitment to producing high-quality food while at the same time looking after the environment.

Something that has been really evident with this awards programme is the use of data to enhance sustainability on farms.

The data sources used on these farms to inform their decisions include Herd Plus reports from ICBF, PastureBase Ireland for grass yields, NMP for soil fertility and nutrient management, Profit Monitor for profitability, clover scoring for nutrient management, AgNav for emissions data, Pollution Impact Potential (PIP) maps for identifying the vulnerabilities (N or P) in the local water catchment and Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS) for soil health and many more data sources.

Productivity, technical efficiency and profitability

The ICBF and Profit Monitor reports provide the judging panel with an important insight into the productivity, technical efficiency and the profitability of these farms and this sets our baseline for everything else the farmer is doing. Fundamentally the awards showcase the activities that can allow farmers continue to produce high-quality feed profitably while at the same time looking after the environment.

Improving the genetic quality of calves

The addition of the Dairy Beef Scorecard for dairy farmers in the last few years has been very useful for us because it gives an insight into what these farmers are doing to improve the genetic quality of the calves they are selling to beef farmers. This helps us understand their commitment to reducing age at finish, one of the most important measures for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Tracking the farm’s environmental impact

All farmers had an up-to-date AgNav for their farm this year, which was encouraging. AgNav is a digital sustainability platform that helps Irish farmers measure, understand, and reduce their farm’s environmental impact by tracking emissions and guiding sustainability improvements. They can also check out the amount of carbon being stored in the soil on their farm, helping to contribute to reducing the farm’s total emissions. And having looked at their current emissions status, they can explore the impact of additional practices on their farm to reduce emissions.

Water quality

It was encouraging to see how many of the farmers knew the status of their local river and more importantly what the vulnerability was on their farm in relation to protecting the watercourse i.e. nitrate or phosphorus vulnerable zone. These farmers are accessing their PIP maps and using them to identify the vulnerability on their farm and from this they can figure out the appropriate measures to implement to protect the watercourses. The measures for reducing N losses to waterways are different to reducing P losses, so knowing which is more important on the farm is critical to implementing the right actions.

Data at our fingertips

We are very fortunate to have so much information at our fingertips on Irish farms, compared to many other farmers internationally. But this data can only be a decision support tool for the farm if people know where to access it and then more importantly how to use it.

Soil samples taken every year for a scheme/regulation is of no use if it sits in a drawer from one end of the year to the next. Whereas a farmer who will print off the maps and post them up on a wall where he/she can see them every day of the year to target fertiliser and lime is getting great value from that data.

This data is also critically important when it comes to the national inventory of greenhouse gas emissions for agriculture. The sharing of verified farm data is essential if Irish agriculture is to receive recognition for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Actions such as using protected urea, LESS slurry spreading and reducing finishing age must be measured, reported and verified so they can be included in the EPA’s national emissions inventory.

Making use of the data

The finalists in this year’s awards programme are making exceptional use of the reports that are available to them, extracting the relevant data and making informed decisions that are helping the productivity of their farms as well as looking after the environment. They are building relationships with professionals who can support them in interpreting and implementing change in response to what the data is telling them. Are you making the most of the reports that are available to you?

The above first appeared in the Farming Examiner as part of a Signpost Programme update.

For more on the Teagasc FBD Environmental Sustainability Awards, visit here.