The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has issued a final call for all unregistered farm businesses to sign up for the Soil Nutrient Health Scheme (SNHS).
The scheme, first launched in 2022, is managed by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI).
Farmers in zone four (Co. Antrim) are invited to apply for registration from Monday, June 16. Farmers in zone one, two and three who have not yet registered are also invited to apply.
This final round of registrations will close on Monday, September 1, 2025.
Previous applications
The scheme first opened to applications from farms within zone one (Co. Down and parts of counties Antrim and Armagh) in May 2022 and closed again that September.
Zone two (Co. Fermanagh, the west of Co. Armagh, and south Co. Tyrone) opened from June to August 2023, followed by zone three (north Co. Tyrone and Co. Derry) from June to August 2024.
There was a 90% overall uptake over the three zones in the last three years. Farms from these zones that are still unregistered but expressed information in the scheme will be contacted by AFBI before registration opens.
The training provided by the scheme is due to become a required condition for the the farm sustainability payment from January 2026.
In a statement, DAERA said: “Farm businesses are strongly encouraged to take this final opportunity to join this groundbreaking scheme” while the roll-out of the SNHS continues with AFBI.
Soil Nutrient Health Scheme
AFBI continue to work closely with three main sub-contractors to deliver the scheme: RPS Group (soil collection), Cawood/NRM (soil analysis), and Field Group (LiDAR capture).
The scheme will provide each individual farm with their own unique data, documenting nutrient levels in the soil; the carbon stored in the soils, hedgerows and trees on the land; and nutrient run-off risk maps.
In addition, the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) will carry out online training to help participating farmers understand nutrient management; and even draw up nutrient management plans in a bid to make Northern Irish farms more nutrient-efficient and profitable, according to the college.
DAERA has stressed that all information collected from participants will be protected under the SNHS Privacy Notice as well as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and only used for research purposes by the AFBI and relevant contractors.
