Using the Rising Plate Meter and Forage Sled to Determine Forage Mass

Researchers at the Noble Foundation in Ardmore, Okla., are using advanced instruments to more accurately measure forage mass in research paddocks. The first such technology is the rising plate meter, a tool that has been used for some time in New Zealand, but is relatively new to research in the Southern Great Plains. The second device is the forage sled, a prototype technology that measures forage mass correlated to GPS data. Both technologies will result in more accurate field measurement of forages and higher quality research data and, eventually, will provide better information for cattle producers in the Southern Plains.

The information is presented by Noble Foundation researchers Corey Moffet, Ph.D., Ryan Reuter, Ph.D., and James Rogers, Ph.D.