Independent Analytical Services Ltd

Contact: Mr John Britton

I wish to bring to your attention an aspect of Farm Nutrient Management which is relevant to Irish Agricultural development in the next decade and that is the very inadequate basis for Soil Nutrient Management which is currently used in Ireland.

1. A very high % of soils will be required to have a soil nutrient plan prepared and implemented in the next decade which is a very desirable situation.
2. The standard analytical requirements to underpin these plans are pH, P, K and in some instances P alone. This is a totally inadequate information base to manage such a complex and important national resource both from an agricultural production and environmental protection point of view.
3. The results of this “Traditional” approach to Soil Nutrient Management in Ireland is that a high proportion of soils have significant imbalances which in turn are reflected in reduced output in the corresponding Tillage or Livestock enterprises produced on such soils. In many instances these nutritional problems are induced from oversupply of the major nutrients, particularly in grassland, and as such we have found that the standard method of identifying and treating them to be inadequate.
4. This is a difficult and complex area which demands a different approach at farm level such as linking Soils / Plants / Animals into one continuous system and where livestock are involved there has to be much better cooperation between the veterinary and agronomy profession to successfully implement preventative / curative programmes at farm level.
5. The soil is the basic scource of farm wealth and hence our emphasis on getting the soil into good nutrient balance and keeping it there and this is fundamental to profitable non polluting agriculture and should be the national objective for the future. It is not possible to achieve this with the limited pH, P, K analysis. I feel it is a mistake to base national schemes for Soil Nutrient Management on such limited information.

I have formed the above opinions on the extensive analytical IAS data base (Soil / Plant Tissue/Animal Tissue) and our extensive farm experience in this area of Farm Nutrient Management over the past 10 years. I would be prepared to expand on the above if you so require.

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