Article Summary: Accurately measuring pasture is essential for effective grazing management. This article compares traditional eyeballing and rising plate meters with modern satellite-based monitoring, showing how farmers can save time, improve precision, and make better-informed decisions.
Why Accurate Pasture Measurement Matters
Knowing exactly how much pasture you have is one of the most important parts of running a productive grazing system. Whether you are managing dairy, beef, or sheep, every decision you make – from when to shift stock to how much supplementary feed to use – depends on understanding pasture growth and availability.
Some farmers still rely on “eyeballing” the paddock, making a visual guess at how much feed is available. While quick and free, this method is notoriously unreliable. Without calibration, two people can look at the same paddock and give very different estimates of pasture height and yield. Even experienced farmers can be off by a wide margin, leading to overstocking (and running out of feed) or underutilising pasture (and wasting valuable growth).
Pasture measurement isn’t about adding complexity; it’s about replacing uncertainty with informed decision-making. With accurate data, stocking rates can be optimised, rotations fine-tuned, and feed budgets planned with confidence.
The Rising Plate Meter: A Step Up from Guesswork
A rising plate meter (RPM) is a simple but effective tool that measures the compressed height of pasture. This height is then converted into an estimate of available dry matter per hectare, giving a clearer picture than the naked eye.
To use an RPM, you walk through the paddock, stopping at set intervals to take readings. The device has a plate that rests on the pasture, and a counter records the height as the plate is supported by the grass. By taking multiple readings across the paddock – usually 40 to 60 points – you get an average that can be used to calculate total yield.
However, while far more precise than eyeballing, plate meters have their limitations. They require time and physical effort, often taking several hours to cover a whole farm. Wet weather can cause grass to stick together and give false readings. Variability still exists, with results potentially differing by ±150 kg dry matter per hectare depending on the operator’s technique and calibration. Even at their best, they only sample a fraction of the paddock, leaving you to estimate the rest.
Satellite Pasture Monitoring: A Modern Alternative
Technology has opened the door to measuring pasture without setting foot in the paddock. Satellite-based pasture monitoring, such as that provided by Pasture.io, uses remote sensing to measure pasture biomass across the entire paddock – automatically.
Satellites capture high-resolution images that detect light reflectance from the pasture. Advanced algorithms then interpret these readings to estimate dry matter levels. These measurements are calibrated against known field data to ensure reliability. The result is a consistent, farm-wide view of pasture growth that updates regularly, often every few days, without any labour from the farmer.
Instead of walking the paddocks, farmers receive reports directly on their phone or computer. This allows them to spot growth trends early, detect feed deficits before they become urgent, and adjust rotations accordingly. It also saves hours of labour each week, freeing up time for other tasks.
Combining the Old and the New
For many farmers, the best approach blends both methods. While satellite monitoring offers convenience and full-paddock coverage, occasional plate meter readings can help “ground-truth” the data, particularly in areas satellites struggle to read – such as under tree lines or in shaded paddocks.
By using both, you can have the speed and coverage of satellite imagery with the reassurance of on-the-ground verification. This hybrid approach reduces the reliance on guesswork entirely, ensuring decisions are backed by data from multiple sources.
Moving Away from Eyeballing
Although the human eye will always have a place in farming, relying solely on it for pasture measurement is a risky strategy. Rising plate meters offer measurable improvements in accuracy, and satellite-backed technology takes precision and efficiency to a new level.
Accurate pasture measurement underpins good grazing management. It supports better stocking rate decisions, more efficient rotations, and sound feed budgeting. By embracing modern tools, farmers can manage pastures with greater confidence – and reclaim the hours once spent walking paddocks.
Until we meet again, Happy Measuring!
- The Dedicated Team of Pasture.io, 2025-07-08