Royal Welsh Show: New app calculates grazing wedges
A new mobileFARM app is now available to help livestock producers improve grass efficiency and cut input costs.
Launched today at the Royal Welsh Show, FarmGRAZE was developed by the Grassland Development Centre at IBERS, Aberystwyth University, to calculate grazing availability.
Using the app, producers can input field information by measuring the sward height or kg/ha of DM.
The app then allows producers to specify classes of livestock grown, grazing systems and supplementary feed to accurately calculate grazing wedges and averages.
Speaking at the launch, Huw Powell from IBERS said: “Grass is one of the of the cheapest feeds you can use to feed your livestock.
“Grass can provide 90% of your sheep and beef feed and 50% of your dairy cow feed, so the management of that grass is really important and good management means grazing grass at the right stage of growth,” he explained.
Mr Powell said about 30% of production costs on Welsh livestock farms were as a result of feed and fertiliser. He added that better use of grassland could help to reduce these costs and save producers money.
The free copy of the app is available to download from Google Play, as well as an extended version of the software for £5.99, which allows users to save set reminders to check grass height and export data to spreadsheets.
Benefits of the FarmGRAZE app:
- More efficient grazing for minimum waste
- Improves livestock growth rates and milk production
- Saves costs on re-seeding and improve yields and longevity of lays by making more effective use of them
- Helps producers to make better management decisions when it comes to grazing
For more information, visit the mobileFARM app website