The first phase of the new soil nutrient health scheme is to be rolled out on NI farms this winter.

Launching the scheme at Greenmount on Wednesday, Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots said every NI farmer will get access to free soil sampling at some point over the next five years.

“The new scheme will, for the first time, provide farmers with detailed information on soil nutrient levels for every field in their farm, along with an estimate of the amount of carbon stored in their soils, hedgerows and trees,” he said.

“Some people don’t recognise the amount of carbon sequestration that currently takes places on farms. We will demonstrate how that is actually being done,” the minister added.

The scheme will be rolled out in stages across NI, and it is understood that farmers in the south-east of NI are likely to be eligible for free soil sampling this winter.

“It will be delivered by the Agri Food and Biosciences Institute, and they will be in touch directly with farmers to arrange soil sampling collection when the scheme is available in their area,” said Minister Poots.

It is understood that scheme participants will have access to free advice on spreading fertiliser and slurry after their soil analysis results are available, but the information will not be used by DAERA inspectors for enforcing rules on nutrient applications.

“I would urge all farmers to avail of the scheme when it becomes available to them. The future is about delivering food and environmental outcomes in a sustainable way,” said Minister Poots.