The Department of Agriculture is reminding farmers to finish spreading lime in their fields before the upcoming deadline.

The deadline is Thursday, 31 October as part of the 2023 National Liming Programme.

The programme was established with the aim of incentivising the use of lime as a natural soil conditioner which corrects soil acidity, making nutrients more available for plant uptake and improving overall soil health.

Over 14,500 claims were submitted under the National Liming Programme with advance payments issued to farmers in December 2023.

Payments

The Liming Programme was introduced by Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue in spring 2023.

Over €7.6m has been paid out to date, while over 8,000 applicants have received their full payment.

Balancing payments will issue to remaining farmers as proof of spreading is confirmed, including through the National Fertiliser Database, and outstanding queries are addressed.

The Department has confirmed that no further extensions will apply passed the set deadline.