PastureKey User Guide

How to ensure beneficial use of the PastureKey service.

Summary

Cibo Labs aims to provide producers with a range of data focused services that facilitate informed decision making and better grazing management in various livestock enterprises. The PastureKey service can be accessed via the Cibo Labs dashboard using myMLA credentials to log in. There are three components of PastureKey which can be used in isolation however best practice would involve application of all three to management practices. These components are:

PastureKey WebMap
OneDrive Data Folder
Third Party Integrations.

1) PastureKey WebMap

The PastureKey WebMap is accessed through the Cibo Labs dashboard and quickly displays the most recent satellite imagery in addition to numerous other layers.

Use the [+ or -] to zoom in and out, or the roller on your mouse. Pan using click and drag on your mouse.

The WebMap imagery is an average of 5 daily imagery acquisitions in a 15 day period. Clouds are detected and removed to approximately 80% accuracy. At least 2 cloud-free pixels are required in the 15 day period for display and analysis.

You can view various layers using the layer icon in the top right of the screen. An overview of each layer has been outlined below.

The WebMap is updated every 5 days, and shows a 15 day average pasture image (essentially it combines the most recent 3 images to create one single image, accounting for potential cloudy days). The date that appears next to each layer name and in paddock information reflects the median date of the 15 day rolling average series.

When you check the WebMap, firstly check the 'CiboLabs Display' layer to see if you have any data. If there has been significant cloud cover you will see holes/patches in the data. If this is the case, it is best to refer directly to the CSV file in your OneDrive folder for more complete pasture estimates.

Google Hybrid, Esri World or Open Street Map layers	Background map imagery.
Landsat Seasonal Ground Cover	Landsat (30m) Seasonal Fractional Ground Cover for the most recent completed calendar season. Background map imagery. i.e. Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring
Sentinel Seasonal Fractional Cover	Sentinel (10m) Seasonal Fractional Cover (trees and ground) for the most recent calendar season. Background map imagery. i.e. Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring
Bounds	The property paddocks and/or property boundary outline.
Date (YEAR-MONTH-DATE)	The date of the median satellite image capture, displayed at the end of each layer title.
FOO	Feed On Offer. A 'traffic light map' showing a relative comparison of pasture biomass of individual paddocks on a percentile basis.
Display	A three band pseudo colour composite Sentinel image. The image uses Sentinel bands 11,8,4 (b1,b2,b3).
Fractional Cover	Areas dominated by bare ground are red. Photosynthetically active Vegetation (PV) will be green. Non-Photosynthetically active Vegetation (NPV) or dry cover will be blue. Combinations of the above will appear as mixed colours such as purple, cyan or yellow. For example, a pixel with non-green (dry) cover and bare cover will be a shade of purple.
Total Cover	Relative total ground cover on a percentage basis. This is inclusive of all living and dead vegetation and any other matter on the soil surface.
NDVI	Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). This is a greenness index that gives an indication of pasture density and overall health. We refer to this layer as a more clear-cut version of the Fractional Cover layer (Fractional Cover provides more insight into the intermediate stages of growth pasture might be in).
TSDM	Total Standing Dry Matter (TSDM) in kg/ha. Click on an individual paddock to display a popup showing the most recent estimate of average TSDM for that paddock, as well as total FOO (Feed On Offer) based on the area of the paddock and estimated TSDM. The TSDM value is inclusive of all vegetation below a height of two metres. This is not an estimate of palatable/grazeable biomass.
Monthly Change	A comparison of the most recent 15 day TSDM to the previous period 30 days ago as a percentage of the previous period. Large loss represents <50% of last month; Loss = 50-100% of last month; Gain = 100-150% of last month; Large Gain = 150-200% of last month.

TSDM estimates use regional calibrations that may not fully represent your pasture types or seasonal conditions. If you are undertaking an initial trial of the service without local calibrations, please interpret the TSDM products as a RELATIVE PASTURE INDEX. Initial evaluations should focus on the 'relative' biomass levels across and between paddocks, i.e 'this paddock is 25% higher than the next paddock', or 'the ridges in the paddock are 50% lower than the gullies'.

Land types, pasture composition, seasonal conditions and growth stage play a major role in estimating Palatable Yield relative to Total Standing Dry Matter (TSDM). For example, Spinifex may have high TSDM but low palatability.

Work is well advanced on the estimation of palatable yield, and these estimates will be available soon.

2) OneDrive Data Folder

The Data Folder is also accessed through the Cibo Labs dashboard and is an archive of all historical and current data files. It is a live folder updated every five days when new satellite imagery has been captured and processed for the property.
This provides a secure backup of all historical files, and enables further value-adding of the data.
The folder can be shared with others in the organisation and can also be saved and synced directly through your desktop OneDrive application.

There are three types of files stored in your OneDrive Folder.

1. CSV (Comma Separated Variables) file with the following naming convention:

1. CIBOXXXX-<PropertyName>-<Paddocks>-<Owner>.csv
2. This file is a LIVE file and should not be renamed or deleted. Please download and save a copy as an Excel Workbook or other spreadsheet for further modification and/or analysis.
3. The CSV has the following KEY columns:

PdkName	Name of each paddock if provided
Cibo_ha	Paddock area in hectares
Cibo_notreeha	The net area of the paddock with tree cover >20% canopy cover removed
cibo_TSDM_<date>	Estimated average Total Standing Dry Matter (TSDM) of pasture in kg/ha for the date of each satellite overpass.
cibo_TSDM15_<date>	Estimated average TSDM based on an average of the last 15 days. 5 daily imagery provides three acquisitions over the 15 days. The date reflects the median date of the 15 day rolling average series.
cibo_foo_<date>	Total Feed on Offer (FOO) (kg) based on the average TSDM multiplied by the <Cibo_notreeha> (i.e. area).
cibo_foo15_<date>	FOO based on an average of the last 15 days. The date reflects the median date of the 15 day rolling average series.
cibo_validArea_<date>	The percentage of the paddock estimated to have cloud-free imagery for the given date. This is a quality index for the user to decide whether they want to accept the estimates of TSDM or FOO. For example, 100 means 100% cloud free; 10 means only 10% of the paddock was cloud free.

New columns are added for each satellite acquisition for each of the above. This data can be graphed in any spreadsheet package. See an example below

Figure 1. Property Level Feed on Offer (FOO)

2. GeoJSON file with the following naming convention:

1. CIBOXXXX-<PropertyName>-<Paddocks>-<Owner>.geojson
2. This file is a digital version of your property mapping and can be loaded into QGIS.
3. A great free GIS package can be downloaded from QGIS

3. Raster TIF files of all the output products.

1. These are the raw images captured by the satellite with the appropriate modelling applied.
2. 'Scout Maps' can be generated in QGIS using these tif files and the property GeoJSON file.

Products	The datasets include the following naming convention. <property>_<date>_<product>
DISP	3 band colour composite image. The image uses Sentinel bands 11,8,4 (b1,b2,b3). For purposes of easy display the reflectance values are multiplied by 500 (So a reflectance of 0.5 would be 250). No data is 0.
NDVI	Normalised Difference Vegetation Index. For easy display the NDVI values are multiplied by NDVI+1 * 100.
TSDM	Total Standing Dry Matter (TSDM) in kg/ha.
FC	Fractional Cover Percent composite (red=bare ground; green = Photosynthetically active Vegetation (PV); blue = Non-Photosynthetically active Vegetation (NPV). For easy display the Fractional Cover values are multiplied by 255.
TC	Total Cover percentage. This image is the sum of the Fractional Cover PV and NPV components above. For easy display the TC values are integers + 100. So a value of 150 is 50% Total Cover.
<Product>15	Any of the above as an average pixel value over the last 15 days prior to the image date. 5 daily imagery provides 3 acquisitions over the 15 days.
CHANGE30	A comparison of the most recent 15 days TSDM to the previous 30 day period as a percentage of the previous period.

3) Third Party Integrations

AgriWebb

5-daily Total Standing Dry Matter (TSDM) estimates of your pasture biomass (kg DM/ha) for every paddock, visible within your AgriWebb dashboard.
See HERE for more information regarding this integration.

PairTree

PastureKey can be integrated with a Pairtree account as a central database for numerous services.

If you would like to see PastureKey integrated with another application, please get in touch with our Support Team (support@cibolabs.com.au), and we will endeavour to work with the provider to deliver this service.

For more information or to provide feedback please email our Support Team: support@cibolabs.com.au.