Livestock Improvement Corporation has announced "a giant leap forward for pasture management" — the launch of a satellite technology called SPACE (Satellite Pasture and Cover Evaluation).
SPACE uses satellite images to measure pasture, sending detailed reports directly to farmers by email. This has the potential to save farmers several hours a week by replacing the current way of measuring, which is either walking the farm or towing instruments behind a vehicle.
The technology hasn't previously been commercially viable in New Zealand due to cloud coverage, but LIC's satellite provider takes daily images to counter the problem.
LIC chief executive Wayne McNee says the project is part of LIC's ongoing commitment to developing products and services that improve productivity and decision making for farmers.
SPACE will provide consistent, frequent data that can help significantly lift milk production from pasture. It could be phenomenal for NZ.