Latest round of soil scheme worth £37m opens for NI farmers

Farmers in Northern Ireland can now apply for funding through the second stage of Daera’s Soil Nutrient Health Scheme.

The latest phase is now open for farms in Fermanagh, the west of County Armagh and South Tyrone and is set to close on 31 August.

The scheme is designed to provide farm businesses with information on soil nutrients and carbon levels on their land.

See also: Timeline revealed for farm policy shift in Northern Ireland

Dave Foster, Daera’s director of natural environment, said: “This information will help them more accurately match nutrient applications to crop need, thereby increasing efficiency, reducing excess run-off to watercourses and improving their economic and environmental sustainability.”

The first phase of the project opened in May 2022 for County Down and parts of counties Antrim and Armagh and had a 91% uptake.

A third zone in Northern Ireland is due to open for funding in the north-west in 2024-25, followed by a fourth in the north-east in 2025-26.

About 27,000 farms and up to 700,000 fields are due to be sampled by the end of the project, according to Mr Foster.

Ulster Farmers’ Union president David Brown encouraged farmers to submit their applications as soon as possible.

“NI is setting a high global standard as the first region to establish an extensive baseline of all farms on soil nutrients, below- and above-ground carbon stocks.

“The scheme will help to improve water quality and the progression towards climate change targets adopting a science led, evidence-based approach,” said Mr Brown.