Pasture Tools
Article printed February 4, 2023. For the latest version, please go to: https://feedinglivestock.vic.gov.au/pasture-resources/pasture-tools/
This resource was produced by farmers to assist farmers in low rainfall mixed farming areas to assess their feedbase to improve their feed budgeting skills and ewe nutrition. It includes pictures of a range of crop/pasture types (including cereals, vetch, medics and crop stubbles).
There are many and varied resources for helping to identify what’s in the paddock – both improved grass and legumes, native species and many weeds. The list has been compiled as ones used by some of our staff, but there will be others. We welcome your feedback and any further suggestions to add to the list of ones that work well for you.
The feed on offer (FOO) library allows users to estimate FOO and nutritive value of grazed pastures. Animal performance is determined by the quality of pasture available and when known, better decisions can be made on allocation of stock to paddocks or supplementary feeding.
Pasture rulers measure height and equate to pasture mass – calibrated to read green dry matter when 100% green and capable of conversion to dry matter. These are simple to use.
