Minding the soil for the next generation
Next generation considerations are never too far from James O’Keeffe’s mind, an organic tillage farmer from Crossakiel, Co. Meath who was crowned the winner of the Improving Soil Health Category of the Teagasc FBD Environmental Sustainability Awards 2024.
In this article, Dr Siobhán Kavanagh, Signpost Programme Communications and Engagement Specialist, delves further into the actions being taken on the farm to protect soil health.
Diversification
Operating an organic tillage farm, cereals are grown for food markets – oats for porridge and milling wheat – and James is currently exploring the distilling market also. The remainder of the grain is sold direct to organic farmers for animal feed. James has also installed solar panels on the sheds in the yard to sell electricity into the grid.
This farm is a really good example of a farm that has diversified in recent years. The switch to organics, direct selling of grain to livestock farmers, solar panels, growing and selling miscanthus for animal bedding and the production of red clover silage for a local dairy farmer, all contribute to a diversified system with positive consequences for profit and environmental sustainability.
At a time when many other farmers were taking out miscanthus, James was developing a market for it. He is growing and marketing miscanthus as an alternative animal bedding source which is unique. It has worked well and he has put in more. It’s an important crop to sequester carbon, helping to reduce emissions on the farm. James also has some forestry and is incorporating straw through the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s Straw Incorporation Measure.
Rotation
There is a strong and diverse rotation in place on the farm, with cereals, beans, combi crops (peas & barley, peas & wheat) as well as red clover. The rotation length on the farm is typically six years. Cover crops are grown to protect the soils over the winter where there are crops going in the following spring. The crops are contract grazed with sheep to not only eat the crop, but to recycle nutrients.
James highlights the importance of diverse cropping, including intercropping and cover cropping as being important for soil health and biodiversity, providing a more species rich mix of microorganisms compared to monocultures.
Avoiding physical damage
James is careful to avoid physical damage (compaction) to soil as much as possible. As he is organic, he is completely reliant on organic manures. He is importing farmyard manure, chicken litter and slurry. He has installed a purpose built slab to store this all year round for composting.
For further insights into James’ farming system, watch the video below:
Carbon measurements
James is measuring carbon on the farm through a European project and is confident that the outcome of this will be positive for his farm. Emissions from tillage farming are already low at 1.9 tonnes of CO2eq/ha and closer to 1.0 tonnes of CO2eq/ha for specialist tillage farms with no livestock. Add to that the fact the land is farmed organically, an extensive network of high-quality hedgerows, the miscanthus, straw incorporation, clay soils and forestry that are sequestering carbon on this farm, this farm will very likely be close to being carbon neutral or even carbon negative.
Summarising his farming activities, James said: “Like any farm, you are only minding it for a short time, so I definitely would love to be able to hand over to my son, Michael. We are here for about six generations and Michael would be the seventh.”
More information on the Teagasc FBD Environmental Sustainability Awards 2024
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