Press release
Payments under the National Liming Programme 2023 commence
From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Published on
Last updated on
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, welcomed the commencement of payments under the National Liming Programme 2023.
Announcing the payments, Minister McConalogue said:
“In excess of 14,500 farmers submitted payment claims under the Liming Programme by the extended claims deadline of 7 November. To date over 12,500 applicants have received payments under the Programme, valued at more than €6.6 million. Payments will continue as other cases are cleared.”
The Minister continued:
“All fully cleared cases have received their full payment, with the remaining claims receiving an 85% advance. The final balancing payment will issue in 2024 when checks are completed following the spreading deadline of 31 March. Where claims have been found to be deficient these will be sent for payment as they are resolved.”
The Minister reminded suppliers that:
“Lime deliveries must now be recorded by the Fertiliser Economic Operator or supplier on the National Fertiliser Database. This will facilitate checks on farmers that have forward bought lime for spreading up to the end of March 2024 with minimal administrative burden on farmers and the department.”
Concluding the Minister said:
“In introducing the Liming Programme I was very mindful of research results that indicated that increasing soil pH to optimum levels leads to a significant reduction in Nitrous Oxide emissions while simultaneously increasing grass and other crop yields. The willingness of farmers to play their part in our climate and environmental ambitions is a very positive indicator for the future resilience of the Irish agri food sector. It is only by working together that these ambitions will be achieved.”
The Liming Programme was introduced earlier this year to incentivise the use of Lime a natural soil conditioner which corrects soil acidity, make nutrients more available for plant uptake, and improve overall soil health. The Programme is supported as a once-off Ukraine funded measure from the National Exchequer to assist in reducing input costs for farmers.
Research has shown that Liming not only increases soil microbial activity but can also unlock soil phosphorous and potassium. Liming can also improve the response to freshly applied nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, while providing a valuable source of calcium. Trial results have also indicated that increasing soil pH to optimum levels leads to a significant reduction in Nitrous Oxide emissions while simultaneously increasing grass and other crop yields.
The very challenging weather conditions experienced during the summer and autumn of 2023 significantly impacted soil trafficability and hence many farmers’ ability to spread lime. In response, in early October the Minister announced an extension up to 31 March 2024 for the spreading of lime under the Programme provided the lime was purchased before the closing date for receipt of claims for payment. This led to a late surge in demand in the run up to the original closing date of 31 October. Such was the demand that a number of quarries ceased taking orders as they were unable to commit to processing invoices in time to facilitate farmer claims. In response the Minister granted a one-week extension to the claims deadline bringing it to 7 November. By that stage the department had received over 14,500 claims for payment with a potential eligible tonnage exceeding 529,000 tonnes giving rise to a potential payment of almost €8.5 million comparing favourably with the Programme’s initial budget of €8 million.