13 October 2022

First steps to achieving our emissions reduction target – Webinar on Friday, 14 October at 9.30am

Signpost Sustainability Week 2022, takes place from Friday, 14 October – Friday, 21 October 2022, with a focus on ‘Farming for a Better Future’. On 14 October Teagasc will host a webinar discussing ‘First steps to achieving our emissions reduction target’.

This webinar as part of The Signpost Series and Signpost Sustainability Week will focus on the first steps to achieving our emissions reduction target – Farmer experience of reducing N emissions.

The webinar will feature guest speakers Dr Seamus Kearney, Teagasc Signpost Programme; Dr Deirdre Hennessey, Teagasc and Signpost Dairy Farmer Edwin Thompson, Teagasc Tipperary Joint Programme.

Register for the webinar

Keith Fahy, Teagasc Advisor caught up with Siobhan Kavanagh, Signpost Programme Communications and Engagement Specialist, Teagasc to get an insight as to what is being discussed at the Signpost stand at Ploughing 2022.

The 4 R’s

Reduce overall fertiliser N usage, by focussing on soil pH, soil P & K levels, clover and MSS, and improved use of slurry. Liming alone will release up to 70 kg N/ha/year and increase the availability of soil P and applied P. Maintaining optimum soil fertility through a balanced fertiliser programme will improve nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). For example soils with sub optimal soil fertility have a 35% NUE, however optimising soil fertility (Soil pH, P & K Index 3) will increase NUE to 65% offering a major N saving through more efficient use of applied N.  Clover can fix between 80 – 120 kg N/ha/year depending on underlying soil fertility and sward management. Multi-species swards also offer extra benefits in terms of drought resistance and cow health. 

Recycle animal slurry and manures. Apply slurry to meet grass N demand under good soil and weather conditions.  Have slurry tested to determine exact N, P & K value and apply with LESS in springtime to maximise N recovery.  A slurry hydrometer can be used to conduct on-farm analysis of slurry. Adjust fertiliser N for slurry N to make fertiliser N savings.
However, in order to reduce GHG emissions following the adoption of the measures mentioned in Steps 1 and 2, N fertiliser application must be decreased by the amount of N that each measure saves, otherwise there is little or no GHG saving.

Replace any fertiliser N used with protected urea. Replacing nitrate based fertilisers (CAN / 27’s & 24’s) with an ammonium based fertiliser, such as protected urea or blends such as 18-6-12, will lead to reduced GHG emissions. In addition, replacing straight urea with protected urea, will lead to a reduction in ammonia emissions.

Reward – save money. Reduced fertiliser usage will reduce your input costs (although there are the costs of correcting soil pH, P & K levels, incorporating clover in order to maintain sward productivity).  Switching from CAN to protected urea reduces the cost of fertiliser N per kilogram applied.  For example, today protected urea (@ €2.25/kg N) is costing approximately €1/kg N less than CAN (@€3.25/kg N).  Or put another way, you can purchase the same amount of fertiliser N as either 3 tonnes of protected urea (1,380 kg N) or 5 tonnes of CAN (1,350 kg N), but the protected urea option will cost you €1,000 less.

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