The Grasshopper
Having used a standard rising plate meter to measure his grass up until two years ago, midlands beef farmer Peter Grogan was forced to rethink.
“I took up a Walsh Fellowship with Teagasc, worked as a part-time AI technician and all of a sudden time was at a premium when I was trying to run the family farm. I was hurling away with the local GAA club too. Measuring grass with a conventional plate meter and notebook, then going and keying in the figures to Pasturebase was just taking too long,” Peter told me.
In recent years, Peter has paddocked the farm completely and more than doubled the stocking rate on his autumn-calving, suckler-to-weanling enterprise, which he runs in conjunction with his family.
“Grass measuring is so important for me now. At the beginning of the year I saw a product that was taking the hassle out of measuring grass – the Grasshopper plate meter. It was pricey at €980 (including VAT), but I got another farmer on board, we split the bill and now share it.”
The Grasshopper works via GPS and a bluetooth connection with a smartphone. It has the ability to precisely map the area of each paddock on a given farm.
The operator installs the app, maps each individual division and is ready to go.
When commencing a walk, the device is quickly and easily calibrated, a target residual and estimated grass dry matter value keyed in and thereafter can tell exactly which paddock it is in on the farm. Paddocks can be walked in any sequence.
The operator sets his desired number of drops, after which it works like a conventional plate meter. Once a paddock is walked, a cover/ha is returned on the smartphone screen. All covers are automatically uploaded to the Pasturebase system.
True North Technologies is the company behind the Grasshopper and we spoke to head man Paddy Holten about the product.
“Before we sell, we always do an obligation-free demo on the potential customer’s farm. So far, I’ve only had one customer chose not to purchase after their demo,” he said.
“If a person chooses to buy, we get them set up – ensuring their phone is compatible and showing them how to map and take a cover,” he concluded.
Rapid plate meter
The Rapid Plate Meter (RPM 15) uses a metering wheel and skid unit, mounted on the back of a quad bike, to measure grass cover in kg DM/ha. It is manufactured by well-known New Zealand company Jenquip and is being distributed here by Grasstec.
The RPM 15 retails at €3,790 (including VAT). Grasstec says there have been four sales in Ireland to date. A comprehensive back-up service is included in the price
This week we put the device through its paces on Tullamore Farm.
Foolproof
The idea is that it makes grass measuring foolproof. The operator simply drives into a paddock, hits a button, drives a route that they feel represents the paddock in terms of grass cover, presses another button and a cover is uploaded. A dedicated handheld unit can be used or alternatively a phone app can control the device.
Key points