Johnstown Castle Research Centre
Research Programme
Todays consumer demands a safe, high quality food supply produced in a clean environment. This places in context the rationale in which agriculture production must take place now and into the future and provides the background against which rural environment research is conducted.
The research programme at Johnstown Castle focuses on researching the scientific and technical basis for the development and practice of environmentally sustainable farming, including organic farming.
The objectives of the programme are to
- Generate factual data which will enable preparation of Codes of Good Practice for all aspects of farming in order to ensure that agriculture will not cause pollution of soil, water and air.
- Provide the scientific and technical basis for implementation of EU and national legislation pertaining to the protection of the environment from agriculture.
- Provide scientific basis for cost effective fertiliser and trace element usage
- Quantify implications of environmentally friendly farming
- Provide comprehensive information on systems and economics of organic farming
Research Areas
- Environmental Impact of Phosphorus
- Environmental Impact of Nitrogen
- Waste Management
- Land Use Management
- Sustainable Diary Systems
- Organic Farming
- Nutrient Management Planning
- Soil Fertility
- Fertiliser Use
- Organic Pollutants
- Farm Forestry
Research Programme 2004
| Project No | Description | Leader |
| 5001 | Developing new fertiliser N strategies for grassland to improve fertiliser N use efficiency. | O'Connell, K. |
| 5192 | Towards a national soils database. | Fay, D. |
| 4741 | Quantifying the environmental responses of agricultural production systems. | Carton, O.T. |
| 4752 | Modelling Diffuse Phosphorus (P) Losses from Agriculture, for Risk Assessment and Critical Source Area Identification, in Irish River Catchments. | Daly, K. |
| 4973 | Effect of Agricultural Practices on Nitrate Leaching - Farm Scale | Ryan, M.J. |
| 4979 | Coordination of EPA Research Contract "Eutrophication from Agricultural Sources". | Carton, O.T. |
| 5021 | Factors influencing phosphorus loss from grassland soil to water. | Tunney, H. |
| 5022 | Influence of grazing animal on phosphorus loss from grassland to water. | Tunney, H. |
| 5188 | Integrated modelling of nutrient efficiency and biodiversity | Schulte, R. |
| 5189 | Sources and sinks of greenhouse gases in Irish grasslands. | Fay, D. |
| 5190 | Biodiversity and agri-environmental research. | Finn, J.A. |
| 5191 | Nutrient export andcycling from an efficient farming system. | Richards, K. |
| 4272 | Evaluation and calibration of N, P, K soil tests, indices and ancillary variables using a sugar beet database. | Herlihy, M. |
| 4398 | Fertiliser P requirements in relation to soil P status for grass production on representative soil types. | Herlihy, M. |
| 5000 | To provide a soil, crop and water analysis service for Teagasc research and advisory staff. To provide soil analysis for farmers, agri-business and other clients where resources permit. To supply nutrient advice for soil analysis clients. | Coulter, B.S. |
| 4568 | Environmental consultancy services. | Coulter, B.S. |
