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ICL Specialty Fertilisers has secured an agreement with Bord na Móna which will expand its operations in Ireland and enable the company to supply sustainable growing media for ornamental growers and plant propagators across the country.
The agreement also covers a start-up supply stock of horticultural peat, harvested prior to Bord na Móna withdrawing from commercial harvesting.
Under the terms agreed, this horticultural peat can be used solely for the Irish market.
ICL will lease Bord na Móna’s professional growing media mixing facility at Cúil na Móna, Co Laois, for an initial period of three years.
Stepped in
ICL region business lead Stephen Squires said that the company “stepped in” to supply Levington Advance and Levington Advance Sustain brands of sustainable professional growing media in 2021 to enable Irish ornamental growers to continue production.
He said the ICL team are working closely with growers to help them reduce their reliance on peat and to deliver sustainable growing media solutions for the future, utilising ICL’s new Fibagro Advance wood fibre technology.
This product is a peat alternative with a lower carbon footprint when compared with peat and other peat alternatives, according to Squires.
He said that following three years of research, the Fibagro product has similar water and nutrient-holding capacity to the 6mm to 12mm peat fraction.
Jobs
Squires explained that the agreement with Bord na Móna will utilise the former peat harvester’s site and machinery and help secure jobs for its workforce.
Bord na Móna head of land and habitats Ger Breen said that the company is “no longer engaged in peat harvesting but keen to enable sustainable solutions in a number of different sectors”.
He said that he hopes ICL’s technologies, knowledge and experience will help Irish growers succeed in a sustainable way.
“As part of the Government’s working group, we are further committed to finding solutions to the challenges facing the horticultural sector.”
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