Nutrient management a key to farm success

Ireland has a long and proud history in the agricultural sector. It’s why farmers the world over are increasingly turning to Irish agritech innovators for solutions.

These include future-farming pioneers such as MagrowTec, which is helping farmers tackle rising chemical costs – and limited chemical availability – head on, ensuring growers don’t have to compromise on spray quality and risk crop loss.

MagrowTec is a spraying technology that helps farmers grow more by using less. The system gives better coverage than conventional crop spraying systems and also reduces spray drift by up to 70%

Its magnetic assist technology can be added to any sprayer and allows growers to reduce chemicals by up to 25 per cent, with the confidence of superior coverage. It can help reduce costs such as water rates, labour, energy and chemical inputs, while at the same time, boost productivity, with increased spray windows, spray hours, disease control and yields.

It’s also better for the environment, reducing the risk of environmental contamination, and allowing for improved water management.

Farmeye is an online, map-based system for soil nutrient management, helping to improve the lives of farmers and the environment. The app-based tool verifies and measures soil health and carbon sequestration on farms. Its technologies allow farmers to measure, monitor and demonstrate the sustainability metrics of their farms.

It has been selected as the technology consortium partner for Ireland’s National Soils Programme. Its farm mapping, GPS tracking and data management allows the programme to develop insights for both farmers and the overall agri-food sector. It is the first of a new wave of evidence-based programmes that leverage big-data from farmers to benefit farmers, industry and the environment.

The FarmEye NMP Portal is a web-based system for the development of management and compliance-based soil nutrient management plans. It is secure, easy to use and removes most of the paper-based and manual steps from the traditional process. This in turn saves time and money for the farmer and the agri-professional concerned with soil and water quality.

its sampling authentication systems uses barcoding technology to provide a digital chain of custody for farm level data.

All workers know you need the right tool for the job, and on farms that means the right equipment. Abbey Machinery has developed a range of slurry and manure handling, grassland management and animal feeding equipment, all vigorously field tested on its 30 acre site in Tipperary.

Its diet feeders have been proven to cut feeding time in half for some farmers. Moreover, because of the easy calibration of the system, users report that cows are in better condition, come into heat quicker and show reduced incidence of lameness. It also eliminates feed waste, vital at a time of increasing feed costs.

Cavan based Mastek is a leading provider of high quality slurry solutions, grassland subsoilers, mulching equipment and balers, with sales around the globe.

Its tests indicate that its patented universal dribble bar, which can be retrofitted onto any slurry tanker without welding or fabricating, can provide savings of up to 80 per cent on fertiliser costs.

The Mastek SmartSpread app then allows the operator to enter a desired application rate per acre or hectare, with the app then telling the operator how fast to drive in order to achieve that application rate.

Farmers know that livestock comfort translates into cash, a fact that has delivered significant growth for Easyfix over the past quarter century. The award winning agtech exports cow house products to over 60 markets worldwide, with branches in Germany, the UK and USA.

As farmers around the world face increased directives and regulations regarding the need to improve their environmental practices and the sustainability of their operations, Easyfix supports them by providing products that can help them meet these directives and regulations more easily.

But it also excels on the machinery front. Easyfix’s next generation slurry management system injects compressed air into the slurry at specific points via non-return valves. The oxygen that flows through the valve creates a bubble and as it rises through the slurry it helps to break it down and ensure that it remains in a liquid state.

The primary benefit of Easyfix Slurry Technology is that it is proven to reduce ammonia emissions by 51 per cent.

Conversely, it assists greatly in the increased production of nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the slurry. The liquid state which the slurry finds itself in eliminates the need for agitation which, crucially, makes for safer environments for both animals and farmers alike.

With increasing regulations on farming practices such as nutrient management, farmers need to maximise the efficiency of their manure and rely less on the use of artificial fertilisers.

Easyfix Slurry Technology benefits farmers in their quest for lower emissions, reduced carbon footprint and increased slurry nutrients, while savings on artificial fertilisers will help improve overall farm-profit.