Grass measuring is an important task to carry out on your farm, in order to increase grass utilization and plan for the coming weeks and months.
Teagasc have outlined how to measure grass with a guide of 8 easy steps to follow.
The steps are as follows:
Make a map of your farm
This should include all paddocks and the area of each paddock (in Ha) clearly marked and labelled.
Join PastureBase Ireland
PastureBase is the grassland management tool used by top grassland farmers in Ireland. Register at www.pbi.ie and click into the Help Centre.
Set up your paddocks
Login to your PastureBase account and add your paddocks. You are now ready to measure grass.
Walk your farm
The aim is to walk your farm at least once per week during the main growing season.
Estimate grass cover
For every walk, you estimate a cover of grass on each paddock. Farmers use different techniques or tools to estimate covers.
Estimate measurements
These covers are then recorded and entered on PastureBase Ireland (website or app.)
PastureBase Report
PastureBase will generate a report based on those measurements (“The wedge”) and you can use that information to make decisions about grazing.
Act
The decisions made about grazing need to be implemented in order to see the benefits.
If you have any queries on the steps outlined please contact your local Teagasc Advisor for support.
