Spreading lime on land

westlander · 03-01-2010 5:19pm #1

Hello,
Turns out our land needs lime more so than anything else. I have a few questions if someone could point me in the right direction:

What time of year do you spread it?
Does the contractor get the lime for you and spread it or do you need to order the lime yourself and just get it tipped at the fields that need lime?

Or any info at all would be useful

Thank you.

whelan1 · 03-01-2010 6:13pm

i got it done last year the contractor got the lime for me and then spread it , we spread it in late february hth

podgey · 03-01-2010 7:38pm

westlander wrote: »

Hello,
Turns out our land needs lime more so than anything else. I have a few questions if someone could point me in the right direction:

What time of year do you spread it?
Does the contractor get the lime for you and spread it or do you need to order the lime yourself and just get it tipped at the fields that need lime?

Or any info at all would be useful

Thank you.

The best time to spread is in autumn were i live u pay the quarry where the lime comes from so much a ton and that also covers contractor fee

emmemm · 03-01-2010 10:58pm

if you know somone with a lorry considerable savings can be made.

mossfort · 03-01-2010 11:13pm

the autumn is probaly a better time to spread because the lime sits on top for a long time before it is fully washed down.
it would be cheaper to just get the quarry to deliver or if you know someone with an 8 wheeler get them to haul it.
you can organise your own cotractor to spread or they will organise it costs the same either way.
2 years ago it cost me 18 euro per ton for the lime and 5 euro per ton to spread it.

massey woman · 03-01-2010 11:25pm

Make sure you are happy with the supplier and that the lime meets the Dept of Ag spec
Some quarries mix quarry dust with the ag lime to clear stock piles of this unsaleable by product
I think the approved brand is Grolime
Get an analysis of chemical composition identifying magnesium content etc

emmemm · 04-01-2010 10:00am

lime is also available bagged ...avoid at all costs as about 6x dearer this way.

also avoid overdosing as some ground , especially peaty soils, can get clogged up.

westlander · 05-01-2010 5:05pm

OK thanks for that everyone!
How many tonnes of lime per acre do you think?

cjpm · 05-01-2010 5:31pm

westlander wrote: »

OK thanks for that everyone!
How many tonnes of lime per acre do you think?

You have to get a soil test done to establish how much is required, no one can guess it for you, it depends on your fields.

djmc · 05-01-2010 6:30pm

emmemm wrote: »

lime is also available bagged ...avoid at all costs as about 6x dearer this way.

also avoid overdosing as some ground , especially peaty soils, can get clogged up.

Do you mean granular lime that you can spread with a fertliser is dearer
I just heard of it last yr never used it yet

emmemm · 05-01-2010 7:10pm

djmc wrote: »

Do you mean granular lime that you can spread with a fertliser is dearer
I just heard of it last yr never used it yet

that's right, why pay so much?

John_F · 05-01-2010 8:38pm

emmemm wrote: »

that's right, why pay so much?

well bag lime /granlime is taken up straight away and bulk lime is in the ground a year before it is taken up we were told, so... if you rent a field for 1 year it would make sense not to just leave it for the next fella!

mossfort · 05-01-2010 10:36pm

John_F wrote: »

well bag lime /granlime is taken up straight away and bulk lime is in the ground a year before it is taken up we were told, so... if you rent a field for 1 year it would make sense not to just leave it for the next fella!

if your renting land and it needs lime i think you should pay a price accordingly.
if you get your land tested for lime and it needs so many tonnes of grolime per acre if you were to apply the equivalent in granlime it would cost you a lot of money.
granlime is ok for very small areas.

John_F · 06-01-2010 1:10pm

wit all due respect, in a good site hes (or she) not going to drop the price of the land because you show him some soil tests, he (or she) is going to get the money anyway like, lime is very important for a good crop to grow so if you say your going to spread no lime at all (if what they told us is correct that normal lime will take a year to be effective) and spread n p and k to what the soil tests say then thats money down the drain, it does work well if you have a short term lease and need a good crop, obviously bulk lime will be cheaper and should be applied at all means i.e if its your own land or have a long term lease or if your sure about lease in the following year,

id say the bulk lime westlander but prob earlier on in the year, saw a farmer down here doing it the week before christmas alright

red bull · 04-10-2010 10:47pm

anyone know how much per ton spread or otherwise

massey woman · 04-10-2010 10:52pm

massey woman wrote: »

Make sure you are happy with the supplier and that the lime meets the Dept of Ag spec
Some quarries mix quarry dust with the ag lime to clear stock piles of this unsaleable by product
I think the approved brand is Grolime
Get an analysis of chemical composition identifying magnesium content etc

As said before Autumn is the best time as it gives time to allow lime wash in
but as ever trafficability is THE major issue

adne · 05-10-2010 8:41am

red bull wrote: »

anyone know how much per ton spread or otherwise

It roughly 480 for a 20 tonne loa delivered and spread. 24 euro a tonne

F.D · 05-10-2010 10:58am

We are planning on sowing winter oats, the ground needs lime (took a soil test) we were thinking of putting half in now and half before we set it into grass next year, anyway , some people said you should plough first then put the lime out then till/sow to get better use of the lime as its nearer the top, however our contractor wants the lime put out on the stubble first before he ploughs to avoid heavy machinery compacting the ground again, i suppose this will not matter if lime takes a year to take effect,
any one have experience of this? or what would you do ?

snowman707 · 05-10-2010 2:40pm

adne wrote: »

It roughly 480 for a 20 tonne loa delivered and spread. 24 euro a tonne

you need to shop around, €20 per ton delivered and spread, €19 for orders of 100 ton or more.

adne · 05-10-2010 4:15pm

snowman707 wrote: »

you need to shop around, €20 per ton delivered and spread, €19 for orders of 100 ton or more.

where u in??

snowman707 · 05-10-2010 8:12pm

adne wrote: »

where u in??

sent you pm

dar31 · 05-10-2010 8:13pm

think that a part of the difference in price comes down to the distance the lime has to be delivered

red bull · 06-10-2010 1:07am

Thanks, i live within 2 miles of a quarry just looking for a price per ton delivered a friend will spread it i need 150 tons What you think i should pay for lime

Username John · 06-10-2010 8:06am

red bull wrote: »

Thanks, i live within 2 miles of a quarry just looking for a price per ton delivered a friend will spread it i need 150 tons What you think i should pay for lime

I paid 18euro / ton for lime the start of this year, for 40 tons, this was from a well known supplier in Cork.
I found another place that will deliver it for 15euro/ton, this is from another quarry, not sure what this is like now, havent heard anything about it only price...

massey woman · 06-10-2010 9:47pm

A lot of concern in the North West on the actual quality of the lime
It is supposed to be licensed and controlled by the Dept of Agriculture
I hear of some independent suppliers who mix grit and dust a by product of block making and road chip manufacturing and sell as Ag lime
The old adage buyer beware
Make sure your supplier is a reputable producer giving you a printed docket with accurate weights instead of a handwritten docket with 26Tonnes on the paperwork and 18 on the truck
Good advice to get your own spreader man as he will know the weights

snowman707 · 06-10-2010 10:30pm

massey woman wrote: »

A
Make sure your supplier is a reputable producer giving you a printed docket with accurate weights instead of a handwritten docket with 26Tonnes on the paperwork and 18 on the truck
Good advice to get your own spreader man as he will know the weights

The dept are looking for printed (computer) dockets for reps , hand written are not acceptable

massey woman · 06-10-2010 10:39pm

snowman707 wrote: »

The dept are looking for printed (computer) dockets for reps , hand written are not acceptable

Thats right , but, they are accepting computer printed invoices without looking at the hand written delivery dockets as far as I know

red bull · 07-10-2010 1:41am

Anyone with experience of Mc Graths of Cong or Mortimers of Belclare 150 tons to spread I dont want to make any mistakes

adne · 07-10-2010 9:02am

massey woman wrote: »

Thats right , but, they are accepting computer printed invoices without looking at the hand written delivery dockets as far as I know

Can you recommend any good suppliers in the Sligo / Ros / Leitrim Area

kay 9 · 07-10-2010 12:53pm

Mcgraths have good lime, not sure of the prices though as we havent put it out in a while. HAve been using the gran lime and it's much better we find. Faster acting, more grass, less waste and much cheaper. The best thing is ya can put it out yourself.

reilig · 07-10-2010 1:05pm

adne wrote: »

Can you recommend any good suppliers in the Sligo / Ros / Leitrim Area

JJ Shanley in Dromod or Padraig Beirne in Elphin

adne · 07-10-2010 1:05pm

kay 9 wrote: »

HAve been using the gran lime and it's much better we find. Faster acting, more grass, less waste and much cheaper. The best thing is ya can put it out yourself.

I thought it was much much more expensive. How much is a50KG bag of gran lime?

reilig · 07-10-2010 1:07pm

adne wrote: »

I thought it was much much more expensive. How much is a50KG bag of gran lime?

I can't remember what i paid for a few bags for reseeding a few months back - but I know that it was no more than €7 per 50kg bag.

adne · 07-10-2010 3:15pm

reilig wrote: »

I can't remember what i paid for a few bags for reseeding a few months back - but I know that it was no more than €7 per 50kg bag.

thats way more expensive. €7 x 20 = 140 a tonne x 20 = €2800 as opposed to roughly 450 for a 20 tonne load delivered and spread

reilig · 07-10-2010 3:39pm

adne wrote: »

thats way more expensive. €7 x 20 = 140 a tonne x 20 = €2800 as opposed to roughly 450 for a 20 tonne load delivered and spread

Granulated Lime is ISOXYDE of Lime (ie. Concentrated). It is recommended to spread 150kg of granulated lime per acre when you are reseeding or 1 ton of ordinary lime per acre. 1 ton of ordinary lime costs approx €20. 150kg of granulated lime costs €21. (I got these figures from the seeds section of www.kerryagribusiness.ie )

price comparison, there's very little in the difference.

cattle man · 07-10-2010 4:36pm

hi i spread lime last spring.
cost 13.5 euro delivered and 5 euro a tone to spread.

we sprad 2.5 ton to the acre after a soil test.

adne · 07-10-2010 4:41pm

reilig wrote: »

Granulated Lime is ISOXYDE of Lime (ie. Concentrated). It is recommended to spread 150kg of granulated lime per acre when you are reseeding or 1 ton of ordinary lime per acre. 1 ton of ordinary lime costs approx €20. 150kg of granulated lime costs €21. (I got these figures from the seeds section of www.kerryagribusiness.ie )

price comparison, there's very little in the difference.

Apologies for my ignorance. So would Granulated Lime only be spread on ground you are reseeding

snowman707 · 07-10-2010 4:47pm

adne wrote: »

thats way more expensive. €7 x 20 = 140 a tonne x 20 = €2800 as opposed to roughly 450 for a 20 tonne load delivered and spread

gran lime is classified by the dept, as being 3 times more efficient as ground limestone , so €140 per tone it is working out @ over 2 times the price of ground limestone costing €20 per ton delivered and spread

140/3 = 46.66

some of the manufacturers however claim it is 6 times as efficient which would bring it on par with ground limestone however for reps you must treat it as being 3 times hence costly

johngalway · 07-10-2010 4:56pm

kay 9 wrote: »

Mcgraths have good lime, not sure of the prices though as we havent put it out in a while. HAve been using the gran lime and it's much better we find. Faster acting, more grass, less waste and much cheaper. The best thing is ya can put it out yourself.

Are ye having to put out granulated lime each year?

From what I understand the ground(?) lime takes a year to work but lasts much much longer in the ground?

Correct me if am wrong.

reilig · 07-10-2010 7:35pm

Thanks Snowman, I was just quoting what was on the website - where did you find thise figures? I have been searching for figures on the granulated lime, but there aren't a lot published.

I haven't used a lot of granulated lime - only for reseeding and it appears to work very well. I think that granulated lime is probably more suitable for crops other than grass. It is supposed to work within a few weeks of it being spread - ie lower ph whereas it can take lime up to 12 months to work - not much good if you spread it on a crop of potatoes that need a ph of 6 and that you want to harvest this year.

snowman707 wrote: »

gran lime is classified by the dept, as being 3 times more efficient as ground limestone , so €140 per tone it is working out @ over 2 times the price of ground limestone costing €20 per ton delivered and spread

140/3 = 46.66

some of the manufacturers however claim it is 6 times as efficient which would bring it on par with ground limestone however for reps you must treat it as being 3 times hence costly

snowman707 · 07-10-2010 8:30pm

reilig wrote: »

Thanks Snowman, I was just quoting what was on the website - where did you find thise figures? I have been searching for figures on the granulated lime, but there aren't a lot published.

I haven't used a lot of granulated lime - only for reseeding and it appears to work very well. I think that granulated lime is probably more suitable for crops other than grass. It is supposed to work within a few weeks of it being spread - ie lower ph whereas it can take lime up to 12 months to work - not much good if you spread it on a crop of potatoes that need a ph of 6 and that you want to harvest this year.

the figures are from my reps planner,

gran lime needs to be spread every year, preferably at the start of the growing season, ie february onwards ,

BTW it is priced at 170 to 200 per ton locally here

reilig · 07-10-2010 9:53pm

Thanks for that.

I must talk to my reps planner about it.

I checked the receipt for the granulated lime that I bought in August - EUR 140 per ton for Acheson and Glover Granulated lime.

Looking at their website, they claim that its 5 times as efficient as ordinary lime and it should be spread at approximately 50kg per acre on an annual basis (as you stated in your post above), but they say that this has been verified by DEFRA. They also claim that by using Granulated lime, you are putting magnesium back into the grass which reduces the chances of farmers losing animals due to illnesses related to low levels of magnesium.

I don't know anything about it really and I'm definitely not qualified to make any judgements on it. I suppose its something that we will here a lot more about in the future - if it does what they say.

snowman707 wrote: »

the figures are from my reps planner,

gran lime needs to be spread every year, preferably at the start of the growing season, ie february onwards ,

BTW it is priced at 170 to 200 per ton locally here

sea12 · 08-10-2010 6:54pm

I paid €9 a bag (40 KG) for a bit of reseeding I was doing this year. It was only a couple of acres so it was cheaper than the loose lime. Its ok for a small area but I wouldn't like to be doing it for a big area.

snowman707 · 08-10-2010 9:28pm

"The maximum amount of lime that can be spread over the duration of a 5-year period is 12 tonnes per hectare. In any case, a single lime dressing should not exceed 6 tonnes per hectare. Any ground limestone material must meet all the requirements (i.e. T.N.V., fineness, moisture content) for ground limestone as laid down in S.I. 248 of 1978. The only other liming materials that may be used are burnt/hydrated lime, sugar factory lime and calcified seaweed. Ground limestone with a declared fineness of 100% less than 0.1mm in granulated form may be considered three times more effective than standard ground limestone. Such granulated lime products must be spread annually, at the rate appropriate to the lime requirement indicated in the soil analysis results."

found above on the gouldings website

http://www.gouldings.ie/products_gran_lime_reps.htm

black diamond · 18-03-2011 10:47pm

red bull wrote: »

Anyone with experience of Mc Graths of Cong or Mortimers of Belclare 150 tons to spread I dont want to make any mistakes

I ve used both over the years. Gave mortimers a go four years ago and have stuck with them for no other reason but the fact that they are a small family run quarry compared to the other producers. Both mcgraths and Mortimer produce excellent "ground" limestone. Some of the other producers don't grind there stone down to size but screen it out of another process I believe. As has been mention the quality is poor.

All quarries are priced the same from my knowledge but if you want good quality dry lime the two mentioned above are the best option for Galway mayo area.

Muckit · 18-03-2011 11:52pm

black diamond wrote: »

I ve used both over the years. Gave mortimers a go four years ago and have stuck with them for no other reason but the fact that they are a small family run quarry compared to the other producers. Both mcgraths and Mortimer produce excellent "ground" limestone. Some of the other producers don't grind there stone down to size but screen it out of another process I believe. As has been mention the quality is poor.

All quarries are priced the same from my knowledge but if you want good quality dry lime the two mentioned above are the best option for Galway mayo area.

Have you a number of them? Must organise to get some spread. Cheers

reilig · 19-03-2011 10:08am

Collected granulated lime yesterday at EUR6 per 50kg bag.

Its getting cheap!!

Muckit · 23-03-2011 1:12pm

Quoted €9 Greenes, Ahascragh and €9.85/bag Connacht Gold Athleague for Gouldings GRAN LIME today so it's getting dearer around these parts(around the €7 last year). Old stock and other brands may be cheaper. Spreading this on ground that floods each winter.

Have ordered Ground lime from Roadstone @€;23/tonne delivered and spread. Couldn't do any better than that from any other supplier.

Suckler · 23-03-2011 1:41pm

Muckit wrote: »

Quoted €9 Greenes, Ahascragh and €9.85/bag Connacht Gold Athleague for Gouldings GRAN LIME today so it's getting dearer around these parts(around the €7 last year). Old stock and other brands may be cheaper. Spreading this on ground that floods each winter.

Have ordered Ground lime from Roadstone @€;23/tonne delivered and spread. Couldn't do any better than that from any other supplier.

We got a load in from Murrays quarry if its near you.

Muckit · 23-03-2011 3:12pm

Suckler wrote: »

We got a load in from Murrays quarry if its near you.

Where are they suckler? Can't say that I've heard of them

Suckler · 23-03-2011 8:21pm

Muckit wrote: »

Where are they suckler? Can't say that I've heard of them

Sorry Muckit just checked with the father, we got it from Roadstone. Murrays dont do it at all. They are good for stone deliveries etc. if you're looking for that kida thing. They are just outside Athleague toward Scrine.

Spreading lime on land

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