Assessing the ability of a stationary pasture height sensing device to estimate pasture growth and biomass

Authors

  • Andrew Milsom Lincoln University
  • Olivia Bell Lincoln University
  • Kris Bailey Barenbrug Agriseeds
  • Stuart C. Brown Farmote Systems
  • Richard A. Barton Farmote Systems
  • Cristian A. Moreno Garcia Lincoln University
  • Ao Chen Lincoln University
  • Racheal H. Bryant Lincoln University
  • Thomas M.R. Maxwell Lincoln University
  • Colin C. Eady Barenbrug Agriseeds

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33584/jnzg.2019.81.384

Abstract

Good pasture management requires an accurate knowledge of whole-farm feedbase, yet most systems for measuring pasture growth are manually operated and time consuming. A newly developed pasture-measuring device enables remote measurement of pasture height on a regular basis. This study investigated the accuracy of such a device compared with a rising plate meter, then assessed the device on a pure perennial ryegrass paddock at a research farm, followed by field testing in a perennial ryegrass/white clover paddock on a commercial dairy farm. A strong correlation (R2 = 0.93) was obtained between collected DM yield and device-derived pasture height within the pure perennial ryegrass paddock but the correlation was weaker (R2 =0.68) with data from the dairy farm perennial ryegrass/white clover paddock. There is considerable potential to improve upon these initial data through the use of adjusted calibrations. Findings demonstrate the device has the potential to accurately estimate pasture growth.

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Published

2019-10-22

How to Cite

Milsom, A., Bell, O., Bailey, K., Brown, S. C., Barton, R. A., Moreno Garcia, C. A., Chen, A., Bryant, R. H., Maxwell, T. M., & Eady, C. C. (2019). Assessing the ability of a stationary pasture height sensing device to estimate pasture growth and biomass. Journal of New Zealand Grasslands, 81, 61–68. https://doi.org/10.33584/jnzg.2019.81.384

Issue

Volume 81, 2019, Napier

Section

Vol 81 (2019)

License

Creative Commons License

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Copyright

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Rights granted to the New Zealand Grassland Association through this agreement are non-exclusive. You are free to publish the work(s) elsewhere and no ownership is assumed by the NZGA when storing or curating an electronic version of the work(s). The author(s) will receive no monetary return from the Association for the use of material contained in the manuscript. If I am one of several co-authors, I hereby confirm that I am authorized by my co-authors to grant this Licence as their agent on their behalf. For the avoidance of doubt, this includes the rights to supply the article in electronic and online forms and systems.