The use of ground limestone as a fertiliser declined in 2024 according to data from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

The Annual Report 2024 just published by DAFM, shows that ground limestone usage was down 0.17% on the previous year (2023) to 1,017,256t.

Meanwhile, sales of fertiliser in 2024 showed an 8.3% increase in overall fertiliser sales, compared to the same period of the previous year.

Overall nutrient sales increased by 8.6%. There was a 10.6% and 7.4% increase in the sale of nitrogen (N) and potassium (K), while phosphorus (P) sales were down 6.6% on the previous year.

The department’s control programme for fertiliser and lime verifies that the products on the market are labelled correctly and meet minimum nutrient requirements.

In 2024, a total of 281 samples were taken at manufacturers’ premises (190 fertiliser samples and 91 lime samples).

456 individual analyses were performed for fertiliser and about 2% out-of-tolerance was recorded for these samples.

All out of tolerance results were investigated by DAFM, and appropriate actions were taken by the companies involved according to the Annual Report 2024.

The control programme did not find any non-compliances with urea products in 2024.

The National Fertiliser Database (NFD) records fertiliser sales and transactions along the supply chain, from import into the state, to end use.

According to DAFM, this end-to-end solution has been designed and implemented to:

Provide data that can be used to improve fertiliser management;
Help fertiliser users to quantify and reduce the amount of fertiliser used;
Be scalable, robust and secure for a large and diverse userbase.

NFD is for all professional users of fertiliser and lime, and a solution has been designed to cater for all stakeholders, according to the department.

Simplicity of use has been a key driver in the design of NFD, this was achieved through consultation throughout its design with farmers, cooperatives, merchants, sporting organisations, landscapers and parks, importers, I.T providers, and manufacturers.

NFD offers a dataset for future policy decisions and will help Ireland to reach environmental and water quality ambitions, the department has stated.