Using a climate-driven farm model to predict pasture mass for individual paddocks on New Zealand dairy farms

Abstract

Accurate prediction of pasture mass on dairy farms would allow for greater precision and feed allocation planning, and therefore greater utilisation and more profit. Current methods to collect these data, e.g. by rising plate meter or visual assessment, are tedious and time consuming. Daily pasture growth rate (kg DM/ha/ day) can be added to a measured post-grazing residual to estimate the increase in pasture mass after a grazing or cutting event. Keywords: decision support, grazing management, pasture growth rate