Developed with farmers, for farmers, Pastures from Space Plus is a farm monitoring tool using satellite technology to help turn Western Australian pastures into profit.
Pastures from Space was developed by Landgate in association with the Department of Agriculture and Food and the CSIRO, the cutting-edge technology aims to help farmers save time and money by harnessing high-resolution satellite technology to support decision making about their properties.
Officially launching the tool at Wagin Woolorama last week, Lands Minister Terry Redman said it integrated high-resolution satellite imagery, a stocking rate calculator, feed budgeting tool and Bureau of Meteorology rainfall data.
“Farmers who subscribe to the monitoring tool will save time and money by having access to high-resolution satellite imagery of their paddocks,” Mr Redman said.
“They will also have rainfall figures and more than a decade of historical pasture data in one online service that is easily accessible on mobile devices.
“Farmers can prepare customised charts and calculations in a few minutes to help them make important management decisions about their properties such as feed budgeting, stocking rates and fertiliser application.”
Pastures from Space Plus provides pasture growth rates and estimated food on offer at both paddock and whole-of-farm level. Pricing for the service is categorised into five different, size based schemes, ranging from AU$400 for less than 500 hectares, to AU$2,000 for over 15,000 hectares (a special introductory offer discounts every purchase by $262.35). Users can also choose to pay less for low-resolution imagery.
All of the categories provide:
- Weekly updated PGR, FOO & NDVI paddocks values,
- Full historical data going back to 2004
- Regularly updated high-resolution satellite imagery
- Services for an unlimited number of paddocks
- Simple to use Stocking Rate Calculator
Pastures from Space Plus was launched on Friday at Wagin Woolorama by (left to right): Landgate Imagery Products and Services Manager Matt Adams, WA Lands Minister Terry Redman, Landgate Account Manager Roberto Hofmann.
The original ‘Pastures from Space’ was first launched in 2000 and the State Government has kept ahead of technological advancements by redeveloping the tool to better meet the needs of farmers in 2016 and beyond.
“The feedback from farmers and agronomists about the new and improved version has been incredibly positive with it being described as a ‘game changer’,” the Minister said.
“This type of technology is giving us the edge over our overseas agriculture competitors and I applaud Landgate for its innovative approach.”
For more information, and to trial PFS with a sample dataset, visit https://pfs.landgate.wa.gov.au
