A drone equipped with LiDAR is being tested as a faster, more precise way for cattle graziers to measure how much pasture is available. The tool, developed by CSIRO, lifts off over paddocks at the Boorowa Agricultural Research Station, where senior research technician Stuart Brown operates it while the sensors scan the grass below.
The system aims to replace or supplement manual methods that are often slower and less accurate. By capturing detailed data on the amount of feed in front of cattle, graziers could make more informed decisions about stocking rates and rotational grazing.
At this stage, the source describes the tool's design and testing, but does not provide quantitative results or compare it directly to existing techniques. The key advantage, according to the report, is the combination of speed and accuracy that LiDAR offers over ground-based estimation.