The data collected and provided through the Cibo Labs Pasture Key and Australian Feedbase Monitor has been developed to overcome the issues associated with on-ground pasture assessment. This technology has the ability to estimate pasture biomass (kg DM/ha) using satellite imagery combined with remote sensing and machine learning. This data can then be used to create accurate feed budgets that capture paddock variability for a specific location.
Cibo Labs provides two products to graziers which are designed to provide accurate assessments of pasture biomass (kg DM/Ha). These products – the Australian Feedbase Monitor and PastureKey are designed to support graziers through regular, objective and repeatable assessments across individual properties and paddocks.
The Australian Feedbase Monitor (AFM) is a joint MLA/Cibo Labs initiative which provides every MLA Member with free access to estimates of whole of property pasture biomass, ground cover and woody cover. This tool provides producers with an understanding of feedbase trends across their property with the added ability to look at historical estimates.
The Cibo Labs PastureKey service provides high resolution, paddock level estimates of pasture biomass (kg DM/ha). This is a paid annual subscription service which enables producers to take their forage budgeting and feedbase management to the next level. The key differences between these two products are listed in Table 1 below.
Both these tools still require some on-ground paddock validation and data to perform a forage budget, particularly with regard to unpalatable pasture components.
Australian Feedbase Monitor (AFM)
PastureKey
Resolution
80m resolution
10m resolution
Frequency of Estimates
5-daily Pasture Biomass Total Standing Dry Matter (TSDM – kg/ha) estimates displayed as a 30-day rolling median.
5-daily and 15-day rolling median TSDM estimates displayed as a 15-day rolling median in the Web interface + All 5-daily TSDM estimates provided in a data folder/excel spreadsheets.
Cost
Free for MLA members ($99/yr for Non-Members). Currently only available to producers with valid LPA User ID and Property Identification Code (PIC).
Annual subscription (Price based on size and number of properties). CLICK HERE for more details.
Level of Information
Property level (based on land parcels) analysis for strategic planning and decision making.
Property and paddock level (based on fence lines/custom areas) for each farm with a subscription for tactical decision making.
Layers Provided
TSDM, time-series graphs back to 2017, Ground Cover, Woody Cover.
TSDM (kg DM/ha), Ground Cover, Fractional Cover, Monthly Change, Traffic Light FOO maps, NDVI + Data folder for all imagery captured on your farm.
Other
View imagery for every farm in Australia back to early 2017 and the last ~30 years for ground cover and woody cover.
Farm level reports available.
Integration with Agriwebb, Pairtree, CERES tags and FarmBot.
Forage Budgeting Spreadsheet templates provided.
Ability to ‘back process’ historical 10m resolution TSDM data.
Access to premium support.
Australian Feedbase Monitor (AFM)
The AFM provides a 30-day rolling average estimate of the kg DM/ha on your property. This data is provided at a 1ha (80m resolution). In order to set up your property on the AFM:
- You need to have a myMLA account.
- You need to have your LPA account (PIC number) linked to your myMLA account.
- Then you can login to the AFM via the Cibo Labs website using your myMLA login details.
- Create your property by selecting the land parcels that form your boundary.
For more detailed instructions on how to set up your own AFM account, click on the link below:
Once you have your property set up you can view the TSDM layer which provides a 30 day rolling average estimate of kg DM/ha for your entire property (aka – your forage supply). You can view historical monthly data back to 2017.
You can also produce charts for your whole property which display the seasonal changes and trends in your feedbase.
You can use the data from the AFM to perform a whole property forage budget or to simply understand and assess seasonal trends and use it to help you make more strategic decisions on your stocking rates.
If you are interested in finding out more about this tool you can watch the webinars below:
Cibo Labs PastureKey tool
If you are ready to dive straight into the paddock level forage budgeting, the Cibo Labs PastureKey tool provides 5-daily estimates of the kg DM/ha in your paddocks at a 10m resolution.
These estimates of kg DM/ha can be put directly into a forage budget as your starting forage supply figure.
Please note this estimate is not differentiating between palatable/unpalatable biomass, and it does not take into account detachment or the level of residual feed you want to leave behind. These calculations still need to be completed to work out the feed available for grazing.
The PastureKey tool also provides layers on your ground cover, NDVI monthly change, FOO traffic light map and fractional cover. The fractional cover layer is estimating whether the pasture biomass is actively photosynthesising or if it is dried off – this is a good indicator of feed quality/digestibility.
For more information on the PastureKey tool please watch this tutorial:
The benefits of satellite imagery is that it captures paddock variability much more accurately than looking at your pasture from ground level. It can also reduce the labour associated with estimating forage supply.
It is important to assess the accuracy of the tool for your property prior to using the estimates in a forage budget. For more information about these services please visit the Cibo Labs Website or email support@cibolabs.com.au.