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Agriland
5 days ago
- Science
- Agriland
Loop Head at forefront of agricultural sustainability research
Local community development group, Loop Head Together CLG, which is based in the Loop Head peninsula, Co. Clare, was recently awarded €1.75 million to conduct a soil carbon enhancement project aimed at determining the feasibility of restoring soil health in coastal farming regions of Ireland. The funding forms part of an overall investment of €17.8 m in eleven projects under the European Innovation Partnership (EIP), which forms part of the Common Agricultural Policy strategic plan. The announcement coincides with the current roll-out of Loop Head's involvement in Ireland mid-west's Living Lab, a European-funded project called Soilcrates. Loop Head The new project firmly places Loop Head at the forefront of this research around sustainability in agriculture, according to Margaret Cotter, chairperson of Loop Head Together CLG. The group – in collaboration with Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) through research fellow Dr Lena Madden, and assisted by consultants Laura Foley MSc and Michelle Cooney – submitted an EIP proposal to roll out a research project on the Loop Head peninsula, The project is dedicated to soil carbon enhancement, reducing nutrient run-offs and the need for chemical fertilisers, and exploring the potential for circular bio-economy solutions in agriculture. The project is co-funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and the EU. DAFM cited not only its support of the project as an extension of the department's overall mission to improve soil health, but also pointed out that the project is highly relevant and aligns with the department's priorities around promoting the circular and bio economy. According to Loop Head Together CLG, the most important part of this project is that it will be carried out in conjunction with farmers on the ground with the aim of improving not just the soil but also the long-term viability and sustainability of farming and agriculture generally, With soil management and soil health literally being the foundation of environmental sustainability, these learnings have the potential to have very positive impacts on both the environment and agriculture across the country, the CLG stated. With the Loop Head peninsula also already being the pilot decarbonising zone for Co. Clare, Loop Head Together CLG expressed its gratitude for the support of Clare County Council – in particular, Morgan Lahiffe and the wider climate action team – when it came to putting together this proposal for Loop Head. Dr. Lena Madden, research fellow at TUS. Image source: Longford County Council. The proposal will also see support from University College Dublin, Munster Technological University, Premier Green, Kracken Seeds, EIT Climate, Arigna Fuels, the ICOS, and agricultural consultants Damien Coyne Ltd. Minister of State at the DAFM, Timmy Dooley, cited the project as a 'way of exploring and demonstrating best practice across the country in terms of sustainable farming'. He described the economic impact of developing better systems for farmers in a way that does not damage the long-term viability of the farm or the soil. 'Research projects like these puts the farming community at the forefront of such findings, meaning that farming is protected going forward,' Minister Dooley said. Fine Gael Deputy, Joe Cooney commended the community on the Loop Head peninsula. 'I'm delighted to see the Loop Head Together organisation getting acknowledged at department level in this way, for the innovative and strategic approach it has taken in tackling some of the challenges that face coastal farming communities. 'I look forward to engaging with them as they progress the project,' Deputy Cooney said. This project, which is rolling out under the working title of SCEENE (Soil Carbon Enhancement for Excess Nutrient Elimination) is still pending final clarifications and signing of contracts, but it is hoped to move towards implementation in the coming months. Local community Margaret Cotter, chairperson of Loop Head Together CLG, said that the goal with the project as a group 'is to support our local farming community in finding solutions to the challenges presented by climate change'. 'The two principal economic drivers in Loop Head are tourism and agriculture and we are acutely aware as a community of the need to support both to ensure the sustainability of our locality into the future.' Cotter pointed out that the project would not have been possible without Loop Head Together's ongoing collaboration with TUS and in particular Dr. Lena Madden. 'Lena has brought with her the extensive expertise of her colleagues and friends who form the operational group for the project. We are also very grateful to the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine for selecting us in this competitive process.' Loop Head Together CLG expressed thanks to its local community on Loop Head for supporting their efforts to work together towards protecting farms and the environment, and in promoting the potential for circular bioeconomy solutions that will help keep rural communities thriving into the future.
Agriland
26-04-2025
- Health
- Agriland
Boost soil carbon levels for healthier medium and yields
It is often remarked that Irish soils have been badly damaged over the years through ill husbandry and exploitation of its inherent nutrients and structure. These are weighty charges that are not to be dismissed lightly, for it is upon soil that all farming – and ultimately human nutrition – is based, so its proper functioning is important to all of us. Yet before we can ask after the state of a soil, we need to get to grips with what it actually is for. Although there is soil everywhere we go, familiarity tends to blunt our interest in the finer details of its composition and purpose. Thin layer of life A simple description is that soil is the boundary layer between the rock of this planet's outer shell and the atmosphere, where that rock lies above the level of the oceans. Soil is composed of three main constituents – minerals, water, and gasses – with the organic matter sometimes being divided into dead carbon-based material and live organisms. Optimum soil will contain 25% water and 25% air, according to Lena Madden, senior research fellow at the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS). While this is the ideal, she questions the existence of such a soil in Ireland, pointing out that we have a wet climate which tends to encourage the waterlogging of soil, excluding the air that is so vital to its health. Moisture management There is little can be done about the climate, so controlling the rainfall is out of the question. Yet the rate at which the water drains away or is retained are factors that can be modified to large extent, so it is these that farmers need to focus on when optimising soil husbandry. Soil acidity and nutrient status are the two main features over which there is a great deal more control, and it is these that the Irish government have focussed on through the advice given by Teagasc over the years. Dr Lena Madden (fourth from left) with colleagues from the Irish Living Labs project However, Dr. Madden questions whether these are still the appropriate factors to highlight when considering the health of the soil, for soil needs to function as a growing medium, rather than just a reservoir for nutrients, if yields are to be maintained. To function properly, soil needs a structure, which is often badly damaged by compaction. Dr, Madden highlights this compaction as a major concern, suggesting that perhaps it would be better to address this issue instead of the pursuit of ensuring a supposedly correct balance in the nutrient bank. The senior research fellow also urges for soil not to be regarded as a lifeless mix. She said it is the microorganisms within it that create the structure, and it is the care for these -be they worms, fungi, or any of the millions of species that live beneath the ground – that holds the key to soil health. Dr. Madden also suggested that we must also stop regarding the the first 5-10cm of soil as its true extent. She said he roots of a pasture should extend to 20-30cm and stock farmers need to consider the functioning of the soil at this depth alongside the mat of roots nearer the surface. Carbon is the answer Compaction is the curse of all soils and, here in Ireland, the high rainfall exacerbates the issue, not only discouraging root growth but causing run-off and the erosion of soils. The best way to improve the situation, Dr. Madden believes, is to increase the amount of organic carbon in soils, and she has set this out as a major focus for the studies and trials being conducted under the EU-funded Living Lab project. Meanwhile, the researcher urges farmers to do whatever they can to add more carbon to their soils, noting that one quick fix may be the addition of woodchips mixed with slurry, though she notes that all solutions are site-specific. Two factions, two resources As for slurry itself, the ability to separate it and treat the two factions as different materials is a step forward and may hold potential in helping to extract the greatest benefit from it. Using either slurry or crops for energy production is a waste of resources according to Dr Madden Bovine-sourced farm slurry is a great carbon resource, although it will vary in nutrient content, and Dr Madden has no time for feeding it to an anaerobic digester for the production of methane. This, she points out, removes a large part of the carbon from the material, as is intended, leaving a nutrient-rich broth thatoffers little benefit in the way of improving soil composition and structure. Compost for soil Composting of carbon-rich residues, such as straw and other crop residues, in conjunction with slurry is another idea that appeals to those wishing to address the deficit of organic carbon in soils. Compositing dairy bedding in a purpose-built facility in the Netherlands. The farm specialises in high-value crops Unfortunately this is a process which adds costs to production in the short-term. While the benefits should appear further down the line as soil condition improves, that is a hard sell to many in conventional farming. Crop residues such as forest thinnings are also in demand from power stations running on biomass, further adding to the competition between farmers and the energy industry for what were once considered waste products. Overall outlook There has always been an appreciation of the role of organic matter in farming. With the post-green revolution. much of this understanding was swept away with the reliance on scientific method rather than the wisdom and empathy developed over hundreds of generations. It is that course of action which is being questioned now as never before, as overall yields plateau rather than enjoy the dramatic annual increases experienced during the years leading up to the turn of the century. In an effort to once more push forward with increasing yields, or maintaining yields whilst reducing inputs, the Living Labs project is seeking to reintroduce the accumulation and dissemination of knowledge horizontally between farmers at ground-level, and displacing to a certain extent the current top-down approach of institutions instructing and advising. It is this approach which Dr Madden feels will help reinforce the circularity of farming and, by extension, society in general through a collective approach that holds a healthy rural community at the heart of its efforts to feed humanity.
