“A nation that destroys its soil, destroys itself” was the pertinent line in US President Franklin D Roosevelt’s letter to state governors in 1937…
Apparently, a growing world population is an opportunity for Irish agriculture. But is it really, if it comes with the continued degradation of our natural resources and environment? Countless reports over the past decades on the dismal state of our water, biodiversity and habitats – largely due to agricultural activity – have yet to shift the dial in any significant way.
But as long as the sale and use of agrochemicals is such big business, and the food production system is almost entirely dependent on these synthetic inputs to function; our farmers, our taxpayers, and our natural environment will continue to be the main losers in the current model.
Collective back-patting about how great Irish agriculture is compared with other jurisdictions isn’t useful and doesn’t change a thing. It’s loaded with obfuscation and procrastination. We heard lots of it during the debate on the Nitrates derogation extension at the end of last year.
If policy makers are honest, they know that we are in a bind, and that we need to see improvement at scale across our land, our water, our habitats, and our greenhouse gas emissions if we are to truly embrace a healthier agricultural system in Ireland. But it needs political will, strong leadership…and an honest and open mind among farmers.
Farmed land represents about two-thirds of the area of Ireland, so the real opportunity lies in how we can use nature to restore resilience and profitability to this important indigenous sector.
And, bearing in mind we produce less than half a percent of the world’s food (destined for the wealthy middle classes), we have a unique opportunity to deliver a model of agriculture over the next decade that restores our degraded land, and is fitting for the top 1% of conscientious consumers around the globe. To do that at scale we should focus on the one thing every farm has in abundance – soil.
Soil is the world’s largest habitat; and yet it is hardly noticed or appreciated for the multitude of benefits it can have. Healthy soil, alive with life (rather than chemicals), can deliver on so many of our society’s needs…from climate action, water quality, terrestrial biodiversity, nutrient and carbon cycling, to better food, and ultimately improved human and environmental health. A fitting One Health approach for all society.
“A nation that destroys its soil, destroys itself” was the pertinent line in US President Franklin D Roosevelt’s letter to state governors in 1937, following the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s where poor farming practices delivered devastating soil erosion across an estimated 100 million acres of farmland.
Soil quality in Ireland, according to Teagasc and the EPA, is also in decline. The intensification of agriculture, and the proliferation of chemical inputs (and animal health products) over the past 50 years has had detrimental impacts on its structure and nutrient content, and on its biology and ecological function.
To be fair, the last Government made real some necessary supports for soil, including incentives for soil sampling, cover cropping, multi-species swards, straw incorporation and agroforestry. But these supports need to evolve apace if Irish agriculture is to transition to a healthier more robust system, from one which is less dependent on polluting fossil fuel inputs and toxic chemicals, to one which works with nature and natural processes to deliver nutrient-dense food, and a cleaner environment.
The EU Soil Monitoring Law has just come into force on December 16th 2025, and with Ireland hosting the EU Presidency in the second half of this year, there are repeated calls from farmers and policy makers alike to simplify the EU’s next Common Agricultural Policy (from 2028). Perhaps a focus on soil will do just that.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is bogged down in admin and IT with the running of the different schemes, many of which are enterprise specific (for example there are schemes for suckler cow, sheep, arable, and dairy-beef farmers), rather than system specific (like the Organic Farming scheme which supports all type of farm enterprise).
A move towards more system specific schemes – like one focussed on restoring soil health – might be the very simplification that is needed to get Irish agriculture on a more resilient and regenerative footing for the years ahead.
Whatever the enterprise, wherever the location, regenerating the soil must be a high priority, and this means supporting it as a living habitat, not an inert growing medium that needs environmentally damaging chemicals to function.
It might surprise some to hear that truly healthy soil, with its millions of microbes, fungi, and other micro- and macro-organisms, requires no chemicals to function. It does the work for us. It allows for water infiltration and retention, it stores carbon, it provides nutrition for growing plants, it supports the wider ecosystem, and it builds ecological and agricultural resilience. If you can create a system of agriculture so healthy that can support its own renewal, then farms and farmers are in real business.
There are stacks of books written on the subject of regenerating soil, and a growing host of farmers across Ireland who have already reduced their inputs significantly by adopting ‘regenerative’ practices on their own farms.
Practices like no-till arable farming (where no ploughing takes place, thereby protecting the soil structure and preventing carbon losses), mob grazing of livestock (where herds and flocks are kept in dense groups and are moved frequently onto new pasture), and using multi-species crops and grasslands (where diverse plants and root lengths help soil structure, draw up nutrients, and are more resilient to droughts, floods and disease).
While some chemical inputs may still be required as farmers evolve the processes to suit their farms, the adoption of regenerative practices on farms across Ireland would see a dramatic improvement on environmental outcomes and on farm incomes.
By taking a soils-first approach, these farmers are leading the way in changing how farming is done – they are creating a new norm.
They are making their farms resilient – economically and environmentally; they are providing more for their families, and perhaps most significantly of all, they are making farming attractive for the next generation of farmers.
So, as we start a new year, let’s have a renewed focus on soil – something our farming predecessors valued so much, long before we decided to replace its natural function with chemicals. Soil used to be handled, smelt, and even tasted. Time to get our feet back on the ground, and our hands back in the soil!