Pasture Data for the Northern Tablelands

Full description

Northern Tablelands Local Land Services (NT-LLS) have funded UNE Precision Agriculture Research Group to collect pasture samples across the Northern Tablelands of NSW. Beginning in October 2021, and continuing as of June 2025, pasture samples were taken at a 4-8week interval, depending on pasture growth and availability. The project chose 10 distinct sites stratified across soil type and geographic location within the Northern Tablelands. Each site contains a high and low input treatment separated by a fenceline. Within each treatment location exists a livestock exclusion cage. At each sample date three samples were taken from within the livestock exclusion cage with a lawnmower to monitor pasture herbage mass and growth rate relative the previous sample date. Three quadrat samples were also taken outside the pasture exclusion cage within a 10 x 10m area, pasture samplers subjectively selected the quadrat locations each time with the aim being to take representative samples to describe the biomass levels outside the cage at the sampling time. At the time of sampling a number of variables were recorded, outlined in the metadata record for this dataset. An active optical sensor was used to record NDVI, green dry matter percentage was estimated both visually and with a computer vision app and pasture height was estimated using a falling plate meter among other measurements.