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The perception and use of cover crops within the island of Ireland
Author(s) -
Cottney Paul,
Williams Paul N.,
White Ethel,
Black Lisa
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
annals of applied biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.677
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1744-7348
pISSN - 0003-4746
DOI - 10.1111/aab.12678
Subject(s) - cover crop , arable land , subsidy , cropping , incentive , agriculture , agricultural economics , gross margin , agroforestry , agricultural science , business , agronomy , biology , economics , ecology , microeconomics , market economy
The integration of cover crops within arable rotations is becoming increasingly popular due to their widely acknowledged benefits. Subsidisation of cover cropping is available to eligible farmers in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) but not to Northern Ireland (NI) farmers. There has been little research focus on ROI and NI growers' perceptions about the husbandry associated with cover crops and the benefits of growing them. Surveys to gauge farmer use and perception of cover crops were conducted at two arable conferences, with 55 respondents in NI and 77 in ROI (132 respondents in total). Growers used cover crops mainly to improve and maintain soil structure in an overall bid to enhance soil health in ROI, whereas in NI it was predominantly for forage. The impact of subsidies provided by Ireland and its stipulated policy influences species choice, and farmers were more likely to plant cover crops after later harvested commercial crops, for example, September. Compared to growers in NI, they were found predominantly to plant after crops harvested in August. In ROI, 63% of respondents receiving subsidies would continue to use cover crops if this monetary incentive ceased.