Meat and Livestock Australia launches ‘world-first’ satellite pasture imagery tool for livestock producers

Meat and Livestock Australia has launched a “world-first” tool for livestock producers, offering free access to satellite maps that show weekly changes in pasture cover on their properties. Developed with agricultural data analytics company Cibo Labs, the Australian Feedbase Monitor was launched at MLA’s annual Updates session in Toowoomba, Queensland. In a statement, MLA said the online tool was designed to help cattle and sheep producers nationwide improve grazing management. “This world-first tool provides producers with satellite-derived objective estimates of leading pasture growth, biomass and ground cover for their property, and is free for MLA members who have linked their Livestock Production Assurance accounts to their myMLA dashboard,” a spokesman said. MLA managing director Jason Strong said it would help take the guesswork out of grazing management by providing producers with more precise, easily accessible information. “The AFM will be a catalyst for a major shift in the objective management of Australia’s pasture and fodder feedbase,” he said. “The AFM will equip producers to make earlier and more informed grazing decisions to avoid forced stock reductions or unplanned supplementary feeding programs.” More than 85 per cent of producers surveyed by Cibo Labs said they made regular pasture assessments, with 40 per cent doing so weekly. But about 75 per cent of assessments were carried out using “subjective” visual methods. Despite conducting regular visual inspections, 28 per cent of producers surveyed reported often having to make unplanned reductions in stock numbers in response to pasture conditions. More than 40 per cent of producers identified lower sale returns as a result of these “forced” stock reductions. The survey found inaccurate visual pasture assessments also frequently led to increased supplementary feeding costs, with about 46 per cent of respondents identifying a need to provide additional supplementary feeds at least twice in the past five years. Angus beef producer Paul Franks, from NSW’s Upper Hunter region, said the AFM would likely become “a regular resource” in his toolkit. “The more you use it, the more valuable it becomes,” he said. “You can go back and look at the pasture trends on your property over time and use that data to plan your management strategy going forward.” The satellite maps, which are updated every five days, show variability in pasture biomass for a producer’s entire property at 1ha resolution. Mr Strong said frequent updates would help producers understand where their feedbase was declining or responding to weather events over time. “Producers will also be able to generate graphs showing monthly changes in the feedbase since 2017, compare individual months to the same period in previous years, and compare their farms to regional trends,” he said. MLA has also touted the tool as a way for graziers to avoid potential environmental or welfare issues, leading to increased consumer confidence in the environmental stewardship of red meat producers. Non-MLA members or those wanting access to higher resolution maps and more frequent updates can opt for a paid subscription service from Cibo Labs. Visit MLA’s website to sign up.