Objectives
Three dairy farmers in Monmouthshire have come together to investigate whether these new methods of measuring grass will enable them to reliably and quickly measure grass yields. They’re hoping that this new technology will allow them to measure the effects of different agronomic treatments (fertiliser treatments, grass varieties and the use of herbicide etc.) remotely on their own fields.
Objectives
Mae tri ffermwr llaeth yn Sir Fynwy wedi dod at ei gilydd i ymchwilio a fyddai’r dulliau newydd yma o fesur glaswellt yn eu galluogi i fesur mewn modd dibynadwy a chyflym. Maent yn gobeithio bydd y dechnoleg newydd yn eu galluogi i fesur effeithiau gwahanol driniaethau agronomeg (plaladdwyr, rhywogaethau glaswellt a’r defnydd o chwynladdwyr ayb) ar eu caeau eu hunain.
Activities
Trial plots will be set up on one silage field on each of the three farms
Each trial plot will test an agronomic treatment which will be replicated on each field 2-4 times.
The control treatment will be the farm standard treatment, which the treatments will be trying to improve upon.
Two to four weeks after the treatment (depending on the type of treatment) has been applied, satellite and drone spectral reflectance imagery of the test fields will be acquired.
Grass growth will be collected using a rising plate meter at the same time to give the ground truthed data.
The grass measurements from all three methods will then be compared to test the effects the agronomic treatments had on grass yield.
Activities
Bydd lleiniau arbrofol yn cael eu creu ar un cae silwair ym mhob un o’r tair fferm
Bydd pob llain arbrofol yn profi triniaeth agronomeg bydd hyn yn cael ei ailadrodd ar bob cae 2-4 gwaith.
Y driniaeth rheoli fydd triniaeth safonol y fferm, a bydd y triniaethau eraill yn ceisio gwella ar hyn.
Bydd lluniau lloeren ac adlewyrchiad sbectrol o’r caeau prawf yn cael eu cymryd tua 2-4 wythnos ar ôl gweithredu’r driniaeth (yn ddibynnol ar y math o driniaeth).
Bydd tyfiant y glaswellt yn cael ei fesur gan ddefnyddio plât mesur ar yr un pryd er mwyn casglu data manwl gywir.
Bydd y mesuriadau glaswellt a gesglir drwy’r dulliau hyn wedyn yn cael eu cymharu i brofi effeithiau’r triniaethau agronomeg ar y cnwd glaswellt.
Project details
- Main funding source
- Rural development 2014-2020 for Operational Groups
- Rural Development Programme
- 2014UK06RDRP004 United Kingdom - Rural Development Programme (Regional) - Wales
Ort
- Main geographical location
- Monmouthshire and Newport
€ 46464
Total budget
Total contributions from EAFRD, national co-financing, additional national financing and other financing.
1 Practice Abstracts
Measuring grass yield is time consuming and laborious because it either involves multiple measurements with a rising plate meter or counting and weighing silage trailers. Recent studies have demonstrated that spectral reflectance of grass crops measured by satellite could be used to accurately measure grass yield. This method offers a much simpler and quicker method of measuring grass yield that would enable farmers to test the effect of different agronomic treatments in order to optimise their grass husbandry approach. Spectral reflectance imagery captured by drones can now also be used to measure grass growth which can produce finer resolution images however this relies on manual operation.
Three dairy farmers in Monmouthshire have come together to investigate whether these new methods of measuring grass will enable them to reliably and quickly measure grass yields. They’re hoping that this new technology will allow them to measure the effects of different agronomic treatments (fertiliser treatments, grass varieties and the use of herbicide etc.) remotely on their own fields.
This project will hopefully highlight the advantages and disadvantages of each grass measurement technique which will allow farmers who wish to utilise this new technology to decide which technique would best suit their system. These new methods could potentially provide a non-labour intensive method of accurately measuring grass which can improve farm viability and competitiveness.
Mae mesur cnwd glaswellt yn drafferthus ac yn llafurus oherwydd bod angen naill ai sawl mesuriad gan ddefnyddio plât mesur neu gyfri a phwyso trelars silwair. Mae astudiaethau diweddar wedi dangos y gellid defnyddio adlewyrchiad sbectrol o gnydau glaswellt a fesurwyd gan loeren i fesur cnwd glaswellt yn fanwl gywir. Mae’r dull hwn yn cynnig ffordd haws a chyflymach o fesur cnwd glaswellt a fyddai’n galluogi ffermwyr i brofi effeithiau’r gwahanol driniaethau agronomeg er mwyn gwneud y defnydd gorau o’u glaswellt amaethyddol. Erbyn hyn, gellir defnyddio lluniau o adlewyrchiad sbectrol a dynnwyd gan ddronau i fesur tyfiant glaswellt sy’n gallu cynhyrchu lluniau o ansawdd uwch. Ond, mae hyn yn ddibynnol ar weithredu â llaw.
Mae tri ffermwr llaeth yn Sir Fynwy wedi dod at ei gilydd i ymchwilio a fyddai’r dulliau newydd yma o fesur glaswellt yn eu galluogi i fesur mewn modd dibynadwy a chyflym. Maent yn gobeithio bydd y dechnoleg newydd yn eu galluogi i fesur effeithiau gwahanol driniaethau agronomeg (plaladdwyr, rhywogaethau glaswellt a’r defnydd o chwynladdwyr ayb) ar eu caeau eu hunain.
Y gobaith yw bydd y prosiect hwn yn amlygu manteision ac anfanteision pob un o’r technegau mesur glaswellt, ac yna’n galluogi’r ffermwyr sydd eisiau defnyddio’r dechnoleg newydd i benderfynu pa dechneg fyddai fwyaf addas ar gyfer eu system nhw. Mae’n bosibl y gallai’r dulliau newydd yma gynnig ffordd fanwl o fesur gwair heb fod yn rhy ddwys o ran llafur, a fydd yn gallu gwella dichonoldeb y fferm a’i gallu i gystadlu.
Contacts
Project coordinator
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Cate Barrow
Project coordinator
Project partners
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David Chadwick
Project partner
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David Jones
Project partner
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David Morgan
Project partner
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Russell Morgan
Project partner