The Use of Mobile Near-Infrared Spectroscopy for Real-Time Pasture Management

Abstract

Changes in pasture nutrients over the growing season are typically not monitored but doing so may help farmers improve how effectively they utilize forage. The aim of this research was to assess the use of real-time near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for monitoring seasonal changes in nutrient concentrations of different pasture types used for grazing and silage production. Three permanent pastures and three temporary ley pastures (3 years old) grazed by cattle or sheep and/or used for silage production were monitored weekly for 20 weeks from April to August 2017 in the UK. Five pasture samples per field were obtained per week for NIRS analysis and estimation of fresh and dry matter herbage cover (both kg per hectare). Herbage height was also measured each week. Permanent pastures included a diverse range of native UK grass species, and temporary ley pastures were predominantly perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) with either white (Trifolium repens) or red clover (Trifolium pretense). Effects of pasture type (permanent or temporary), phase of production (grazed or rested for regrowth) and month of year (April to August) on pasture nutrients [dry matter, crude protein, acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), water soluble carbohydrate (WSC), ash, digestible organic matter (DOMD), and dry matter digestibility (DMD)] were assessed by fitting a linear mixed model. Considerable variation was observed in pasture production and in the concentrations of dry matter, crude protein and WSC in pastures. This study suggests that grazing pastures to a mean height of below 7 cm results in a significantly reduced concentration of crude protein, DOMD, and DMD, which may be detrimental to the grass intake and protein intake of the grazing animal. The DOMD and DMD of pasture were positively correlated with herbage height and herbage cover crude protein concentration. An approach of real-time nutrient monitoring will facilitate more timely adaptive pasture management than currently feasible for farmers. This should lead to productivity gain.

Comparison of Spectral Reflectance-Based Smart Farming Tools and a Conventional Approach to Determine Herbage Mass and Grass Quality on Farm

“…Certainly, some error could be reduced by sample preparation processes, such as the processes performed for laboratory NIRS analyses i.e., homogenizing of the plant material by drying and milling [19]. However, the saving of these working processes renders the mobile NIRS attractive for farmers in the first place, because it enables near real-time results to be obtained on-farm [6].…”

“…Currently, due to modern technology that addresses both labor requirements and precision feed supply on pastures, grazing-based dairy production systems are viable again [3,4]. In grazing-based production systems, knowing herbage quantity and quality is key to an efficient use of the grassland resource because it enables defining adequate stocking rates, optimizing grazing and harvest scheduling, and refining herbage feeding and concentrate supplementation [5,6].…”

“…The quality highly depends on the growth stage, and thus, on the timing of cutting and grazing [10]. Furthermore, the quality is subjected to large seasonal variability [6] and is influenced by the weather conditions that prevail during the weeks preceding harvesting [11]. Moreover, the plant species composition is also an important influential factor [12].…”

Water Erosion Reduction Using Different Soil Tillage Approaches for Maize (Zea mays L.) in the Czech Republic

“…The height of the plants and the number of the plants before the harvest (n = 6) were also analysed. The quality of the harvested material (starch content-SC, organic matter digestibility-OMD and the content of neutral detergent fibre-NDF) was determined using NIR spectroscopy (AgriNIR TM , Dinamica Generale, St. Charles, IL [58][59][60].…”

Developing an approach to assess farmer perceptions of the value of pasture assessment technologies

“…Despite generally low adoption of precision technologies for pasture measurement (Shalloo et al., 2018), there has been significant ongoing research and development of such tools. These include satellite‐based methods (Eastwood et al., 2017), near‐earth sensors (Bell et al., 2018; Pullanagari et al., 2013; Schaefer & Lamb, 2016; Trotter et al., 2010), and animal‐based sensors (Greenwood et al., 2014). A better understanding of the value proposition for farmer use of precision pasture technologies is required for effective design and development (Eastwood & Dela Rue, 2020).…”