Roscommon contractor calls 2026 worst lime season in 50 years

Spreading lime this autumn costs €30-€34/ac all-in, and hardly anyone in Ireland is paying it. Contractors contacted by Agriland this week describe 2026 as the quietest lime season in decades, with one veteran calling it the worst he has seen in 50 years.

That veteran is Padraig Beirne, a Co. Roscommon contractor who has been spreading lime since 1975. He runs a 13t and a 7t spreader depending on the job, and his rates flex with the workload. "If a farmer only wants one load it's a very different story to another farmer who wants a couple of hundred tonnes," he said. "The spreading man takes a couple of euro off each load, but the quarry still gets the same price."

Why has demand collapsed?

Three factors, according to the contractors. A wet spring, a dry summer, and farms watching every cent this year have left spreaders standing. Tax is the quiet killer. "Farmers had a good year last year, so there is a lot of tax to be paid," one contractor explained. Good harvests, it turns out, have a habit of arriving with an invoice attached.

Then there's the hangover from the National Liming Programme. One midlands contractor didn't mince words: "Lime spreading as a trade was destroyed by a government grant a few years ago and has not recovered since." Farmers bulk-bought lime when the scheme launched, but approval capped out at 40t, and some walked away entirely. "It could have been the best scheme ever, but in the end it turned out to be a bit of a farce," he said.

A farmer Agriland spoke to argues the programme pushed lime prices up and they never came back down. Meanwhile, one contractor maintains that farmers who bought through the scheme are now sitting tight, waiting for the next one. A rational stance. Also, for the trade, a slow bleed.

When should you spread?

The belief that lime belongs only to the back end of the year? Myth, according to most contractors. "The only real time that you can't spread is February or March, as it would affect the pH of the silage," they said. Their advice is blunt: "A little bit in the fall and a little bit in the spring; little and often is key."

Most also admit farmers ring them "last minute" — Beirne included, though he claims his eye beats the soil lab. "I'd know exactly the field that would need Lime without any testing at all," he said. Fifty years of ruts and rushes will do that.

What about the machinery?

Modern twin-rotor spreaders can spin their rear drums out-to-in or in-to-out, and Beirne is adamant on the second. Lime leaving the spreader at the sides, not the centre, stays low and out of the wind. "When you're spinning it out the centre, it tends to go higher up into the sky," he said. "We've tried several systems and found that the lime going out at the sides went lower to the ground. I didn't read that out of a book, it came from operating the machines and finding the faults."

He also rates ground-driven-floor spreaders, where wheel speed — not the PTO — governs the flow. Hit a rough patch, slow down, and the application rate slows with you. For typical ground, contractors recommend 2t/ac to get a "proper flow" on the spread.

Dry or damp lime?

Here the trade splits neatly. Most farmers assume dry mill lime is best value. One midlands contractor disagrees: "Lime direct from the mill is too dusty; spreading damp lime is best. The fastest acting, most valuable part of the lime is actually the dust that is blowing away." Another contractor less than 30km away completely disagrees. Beirne splits the difference: "Lime that is crushed one to two weeks before spreading is the best of the whole lot. But a lot depends on how well the lime is crushed too."

What does this change for farmers? Prices are soft, spreaders are free, and the timing myths are exactly that. The window is open now — and if the wait-for-a-scheme crowd is right, the next application round may decide whether this trade recovers at all.