PaddockTrac Draws a Crowd

We hosted a pasture walk with the Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship (DGA) and NRCS Cooperative Agreement at Walter Organic Family Farms on September 22. This event featured the PaddockTrac technology that was developed at the University of Missouri and is being tested on DGA farms around the country.

The PaddockTrac is a unit that mounts onto a UTV or ATV and it is used to measure forage, monitor forage changes, and help graziers manage their grasses. The device is connected to an app on the farmer’s phone and tracks the location of the measurements it takes using GPS.

Once the farmer has the measurements uploaded, he can log in to the program online and pull up a grazing wedge. This tool will help the farmer know approximate amounts of dry matter on paddocks. The grazing wedge also helps the farmer make educated decisions about where to graze their herd next in the rotation. The numerous benefits of PaddockTrac include time savings of measuring dry matter with traditional methods, improved utilization of available feed, a greater ability to be proactive instead of reactive, and accurately knowing how much your cows are eating.

Walter Organic Family Farm will keep using the PaddockTrac on their farm and will be hosting another event next year to explain how it has benefitted us and how it can benefit you. Keep an eye open for that event next year!

If you have any questions the DGA program, you can contact me by phone or email: Angie Walter at 320-815-9293 or angie@sfa-mn.org.