Analyse trends in rainfall and associated monthly Total Standing Dry Matter (TSDM).
- Analyse trends in rainfall and monthly total standing dry matter.
- Comparison to neighbours and the region, consistent with Australian Beef Sustainability Framework (ABSF) Balance of Tree and Grass Cover metrics.
- Assess trends in biomass and land condition that may guide decisions on long term sustainable carrying capacity.
- Support property valuations based on objective information on land condition and productivity.
- Generate a “baseline report” for pasture biomass
- Demonstrate the impact of management on long term trends in total standing biomass (dried).
These reports have been developed using 5‐day satellite imagery, thousands of field observations, and machine learning to estimate monthly levels of pasture & herbage biomass (pasture biomass). Pasture biomass is expressed as Total Standing Dry Matter (TSDM) and measured in kilograms per hectare. It is important to remember that pasture biomass includes all green, actively growing plant material, and any dead material that is standing above ground level.
In addition to monthly pasture biomass, this report also provides estimates of monthly pasture biomass growth (Pasture Growth). This is an indicator of the growth that has occurred each month and can be used to develop a feed curve for your property.
Farm Map and Comparison Area
The report displays a map of your farm area, which is highlighted in red. Your selected reference area (Benchmark) is shown in blue so that you can compare your farm to surrounding areas, likely to have received similar rainfall.
Monthly and Annual Pasture Growth
This report provides a chart for your farm that summarises the average pasture biomass present each month; it shows the monthly growth and the cumulative monthly and seasonal growth. The chart also shows rainfall for your location, provided by the Bureau of Meteorology. This can be used to assess the influence rainfall has on pasture responses.
The blue line shows monthly biomass (in kg/ha). The green shaded area shows the monthly biomass growth, and the brown area shows the cumulative growth over each season (July‐June). The cumulative seasonal growth is “reset” in July. This period was chosen to coincide with likely dry periods in the north and temperature limiting periods in the south.
The estimates have been generated by an analysis of land within the farm boundary, using satellite imagery with a resolution of 100m (i.e. a pixel size of 1 ha). Changes in pasture biomass in each hectare are estimated. The sum of estimated monthly growth within each 1 ha pixel is used to calculate the average pasture growth for the entire farm. Pasture loss, or no change within each 1 ha pixel area is recorded as zero growth.
The map below shows the cumulative pasture biomass growth in the farm at the end of each growing season.
Benchmarking Pasture and Utilisation
Users of this report may wish to compare their pasture and utilisation against the benchmark (reference) area. This benchmarking may be useful in understanding trends and impacts of grazing management or development strategies.
Comparing the monthly pasture biomass of a farm to neighbouring farms (with similar land types, land use and rainfall) helps to reduce the influence of regional climate variability on any comparisons. Differences between the pasture biomass levels on the selected farm and the surrounding farms are then assumed to be due to land and grazing management for similar land types.
To use this report as a benchmark, there are two summaries available. The first is a monthly comparison of the median pasture biomass of the farm (green line) to the selected benchmark area. If the green line is above the 75th percentile, this indicates the farm has higher levels of pasture biomass than 75% of the benchmark area. Alternatively, if the green line is closer to the 25th percentile, it has significantly lower levels of pasture biomass compared to the benchmark area.
The second chart normalises the data and compares the median pasture biomass of the farm to the selected reference area as a percentile rank over time. If the median pasture biomass of the farm is higher than the reference area it will be above the 50th percentile line. It is important to consider both actual pasture biomass levels as well as the percentile rank. For instance, pasture biomass levels could be high across the neighbouring reference area, but the reporting area could be in a lower percentile range, showing that the pasture biomass levels for the reporting area are generally high but lower in comparison to the reference area.
