Spreading limestone

We were out on the cows.ie farm spreading ground limestone last week at the rate of one ton per acre. This is a top up of lime to help keep the soil acidity correct, which in turn will help grass growth and also keep the soil in prime growing condition.

There are many benefits to spreading limestone on a farm.  Lime conditions the soil and controls the acidity by neutralising the effects of acids from nitrogen fertiliser, slurry and rainfall.

If soil is not at the correct PH range it can lead to other nutrients, such as phosphorous and potassium not being released at optimum levels, which would mean that a certain amount of fertiliser spread on the farm would be wasted by the crop as it would not able to utilise it. 

If the PH level drops below 6.0, 52% of phosphorus sown is lost, so this is why all farmers should develop a liming programme. 

Here is a short clip of us spreading limestone here on the cows.ie farm.