Ten industry research and agtech stakeholders are partnering in a new $6.5 million project using Artificial Intelligence to improve on-farm forecasting for livestock producers.

The three-year partnership, titled Foragecaster, aims to create an AI-supported grazing planner that changes the game for livestock producers who want to leverage predictive data to mitigate risks associated with changing climate conditions.

Key partners include Food Agility CRC, Cibo Labs, Meat & Livestock Australia, AgriWebb and FlintPro.

Research institutions including the Queensland University of Technology, University of Technology Sydney, University of New England Smart Farm, NSW Department of Primary Industries, and agtech leader Optiweigh comprise the remainder of the project partner roster.

Combining seasonal climate forecasts with modelled pasture and livestock growth, Foragecaster will allow producers to develop a range of different management scenarios. It will be delivered through AgriWebb’s existing livestock management software product.

The project follows a nine-month feasibility study which helped the research team understand the requirements and market demand for livestock planning tools. More than 30 hours of interviews were conducted with producers to better understand the data layers already available from industry, and to receive real-world feedback on various experimental Machine Learning (ML) techniques for livestock and pasture growth.

Food Agility chief executive Dr Mick Schaefer said the improvement in accuracy of satellite imagery over recent years has “opened the door” to these data-driven grazing decisions.

“Satellite imagery is an incredible resource that provides information on pasture growth and vegetation,” Dr Schaefer said.

“The Foragecaster project will use that imagery to forecast changes in landscape caused by weather events, climate change, or farm management practices, and enable the creation of a grazing planner for future proofing on-farm livestock operations.”

Beef Central readers will be familiar with our regular fortnightly National Feedbase Summaries, published under collaboration with Cibo Labs.

MLA project manager John McGuren said the partnership project aligned well with MLA’s strategy for industry to further develop a data culture, with supply chain decisions based on data capture and analysis.

AgriWebb’s vice president of research and development, Dr Kenneth Sabir, said Australian livestock producers were data savvy, and had been collecting on-farm records and data points for years.

“Now farmers are asking us how they can make better use of that data for planning decisions,” Dr Sabir said.

“Foragecaster will keep the decision-making in the hands of the producer, and it will expose the best information possible to help farmers make the right decisions and mitigate risk through better planning.”

Southern Tablelands livestock producer, Rob Gordon, suggested the timing was perfect for an application like Foragecaster to exist.

“I see so many benefits in harnessing the pasture, soil and climate knowledge bank that has been built and refined over years of research. When combined with today’s advanced technology and breakthrough machine learning the potential productivity and environmental gains will be significant,” Mr Gordon said.

Food Agility CRC and AgriWebb are running a webinar on the project on Wednesday 28 February. Click here to register. 

Source: Foragecaster