Environment Newsletter - August 2024

Download Publication (PDF)

In this edition:

• Farmland Biodiversity Event
  You are invited to attend a Farmland Biodiversity Event in Birr Castle Demesne, Co. Offaly, on Wednesday, August 28, from 11.00am-3.00pm. The biodiversity value and best practice management of the following will be addressed: hedges; woodlands; watercourses; peatlands; grasslands; grass margins; farmyards; and, soil biodiversity. Book now at www.teagasc.ie/farmlandbiodiversity 
• Hedgerow Week 2024 – better hedges for all
  To mark Hedgerow Week, a series of events will take place on Teagasc farms. These events, which all take place at 11.00am, will showcase hedge planting demonstrations of topped hedges and treelane hedges planted over the past three years, as well as best practice hedge management and native tree planting.
• Valuing unimproved grassland
  Sixty years ago nearly every field would have scored highly in the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES), with many species of flowers and grasses, and all the invertebrates and birds that such swards support. With the intensification of agriculture, ryegrass swards now dominate and produce high quantities of milk and meat. Biodiversity in such improved grassland is in the surrounding hedges, watercourses and rough grass margins.
• Water quality message from ASSAP
  The Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP) has the following water quality advice for farmers:
  
  • Cover/catch crops
    • Plant cover crops directly after harvest, as this protects soils and reduces losses of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and sediment to water; and,
    • the cover crop can be incorporated into the soil in the spring to provide nutrients for the following crop.
  • Empty slurry tanks early
    Empty all slurry tanks as soon as possible, and well in advance of the closed season. Slurry is a valuable source of nutrients on the farm and can benefit grass and crop growth when applied correctly.