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Agri Services Laboratory

Dairygold Feed Laboratory has been providing analytical services to the farming community and feedstuffs manufacturers for the past 28 years. We are accredited with the Irish National Accreditation Board (INAB) since 1989. We are approved by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine (DAFM) for soil testing and are members of the Forage Analytical Assurance Group (FAA).

Our Services include:

SOIL ANALYSIS: Lime requirement, P, K, Mg and Organic Matter.
GRASS & SILAGE ANALYSIS: Nitrates, Sugars, Crude Protein, DMD and Trace Elements.
GRAIN ANALYSIS: Moisture, Protein, Hectolitre, Screenings, and Germination.
MINERAL ANALYSIS: Magnesium, Sodium, Copper, Zinc, Calcium etc.
EED ANALYSIS: Crude Protein, Crude Fibre, Ash, Oil (A+B), Moisture, Free Fatty Acids and various Elements and Minerals etc.

Other Analysis Available on Request!

 

Soils

Soil testing is essential to understand the health of your soil and its ability to grow high yielding, good quality grass. 90% of soils in Ireland are outside the optimum pH of 6.5-7 and as a result stunts the potential yield of grass by 1tn/Ha. Having the correct pH and Phosphorous Index can provide your farm with an extra 1.5Tn/Ha of high quality grass. The only way to understand what your soil requires is to test them. We in Dairygold Agri-Services Laboratory offer a wide range of tests including pH

P, K, Mg, and organic matter which are all INAB approved. We also offer specific analyses of trace elements and our Area Sales Managers can offer expertise advice in understanding your results.

  • How to sample correctly
  • Soil Sampling Service
  • Understanding your results
  • Fertiliser Plan
  • Uploading your results to DAFM

How to sample correctly

  • To take a soil sample it is essential to have a suitable soil corer
  • Ensure soil cores are taken to the correct sampling depth of 100 mm (4”)
  • Take a soil sample every 2 to 4 ha. (5-10 acres)
  • Take separate samples from areas that are different in soil type, previous cropping history, slope, drainage or persistent poor yields
  • Avoid any unusual spots such as old fences, ditches, drinking troughs, dung or urine patches or where fertiliser / manures or lime has been heaped or spilled in the past.
  • Do not sample a field until 3 to 6 months after the last application of P and K and 2 years where lime was applied
  • Take a minimum of 20 soil cores, mix them together, and take a representative sub-sample for analysis.
  • Take a representative soil sample by walking in a W shaped pattern across the sampling area.
  • Place the soil sample in a sample bag and write the field number on it. Follow the link below to download the soil sample sheet for fertiliser plan requirements.
  • Return Samples to Dairygold Agri Services Laboratory, Lombardstown.
 

Grass & Silage

It is important to test your grass before cutting to determine your cutting date. For good preservation, you need a low level of Nitrogen and high sugar content. First cut silage requires 100 units of Nitrogen/acre. Grass uses approximately 2 units of Nitrogen/acre/day (and so spreading 100units@2units used/day = 50days) it takes roughly 50 days for grass to utilise the spread nitrogen and be ready for cutting. However, these figures are only accurate in good growing conditions and so testing your grass is the only way of measuring when you can cut for silage to maximise quality and yield.

Table
*INAB approved

The following tests ae an example of the analysis available for silage.
Dry Matter NDF Nitrogen PDIE
Dry Matter Digestibility pH Crude Protein  
UFL Lactic Acid PDIA  
UFV Ash PDIN  
This will help you plan your dry cow feeding programme for your herd.
The ideal silage should contain the following levels.

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