GRASSOMETER
MONFORD AG SYSTEMS LTD (IE)
GrassOmeter believes data is the new soil; that soon it will be as important to the farm of tomorrow as the tractor is today. The GrassOmeter is a complete map, measure and management system that brings precision farming to the grassland farmer. It can be mounted on a stick and controlled via a mobile phone; the data is instantly recorded to the cloud.
Using the GPS of an app-enabled smartphone, four ultrasound sensors and a nine-point orientation sensor, the GrassOmeter maps the topography of the ground and measures grass height to allow the farmer to accurately manage their resources. Grass is a crop like any other: manage it well and yields will increase significantly.
GrassOmeter allows farmers (particularly dairy, beef and sheep farmers) to provide better quality feed for their animals and to increase their productivity.
By taking the guesswork out of grass measurement and supplying accurate figures — the factors farmers usually need to record and benchmark grass growth performance — GrassOmeter allows farmers (particularly dairy, beef and sheep farmers) to provide better quality feed for their animals and to increase their productivity whilst reducing their use of inputs, paddock by paddock, across the whole farm.
PROFILE
Monford AG Systems was founded by Steven Lock with the help of Jerry Manock, a designer of the original Macintosh Computer. The GrassOmeter was developed at Trinity College Dublin via an EI Innovation Voucher and current investors include Kernel Capital, the Bank of Ireland Seed Fund, Glanbia, the Irish Farmers Journal and a group of Irish and New Zealand farmers.
The Farm Cyborg section of the exhibition explores how over the last decade we have begun outfitting plants, landscapes and animals with sensors, actuators and wearable computers.