Omega Crop, a crop modelling solution that uses a wealth of data to accurately predict current grass covers, looks set to revolutionise grassland management.

The service, which is now available through Mole Valley Farmers is able forecast growth without farmers having to walk fields and measure grass manually.

Satellite technology for measuring grass is not new. However, cloud cover in the UK makes it difficult to accurately assess grass covers on a regular basis to allow farmers to make timely decisions about which fields to graze next.

To overcome this limitation, Omega Crop uses a constellation of satellites, field-level weather forecasts as well as in-house models and simulations to provide an uninterrupted daily service.

The only data required from farmers is the date animals left the field. From this, the app can accurately predict grass yields for the next seven days.

The technology has already undergone significant stress testing over the past two years with 16 rotational grazing farmers in the UK trialling the technology for Omega Crop and Mole Valley Farmers.

Jared Bainbridge, co-founder of Omega Crop, said: “Farmers told us that within [the parameter] of 200kg of dry matter per hectare was close enough to make accurate grassland management decisions.”

Results showed it can accurately measure grass growth within 50kg of dry matter (DM) per hectare (ha), said Mr Bainbridge.

Mole Valley Farmers currently has eight dairy farmers in England piloting the technology to cross-reference data with field measurements.

Lisa Hambly, head of grassland and forage at Mole Valley Farmers, said: “This can revolutionise grassland management by allowing farmers to track grass growth at any time from any place.

“Using the grass growth predictions, farmers will be able to make decisions earlier, whether that is moving cows or shutting fields up for silage. It also produces a vast amount of data to track trends year on year,” says Ms Hambly.

Currently, accurate predictions can be made up to a limit of 3200kg of DM/ha. However, app developers are testing a silage model that will allow higher covers to be predicted. This will enable farmers to forecast optimal silage-cutting dates.

Omega Crop is independently funded by Oxford Science Enterprises which means farmers’ data remains private.

A version for Android is being developed and is expected to be released later this year. Android users can however access the service from a desktop.

An annual subscription costs £6/acre for customers of Mole Valley Farmers. Farmer Shareholders can receive a special discount of £5.50/acre.