Rainfall and Pasture Report
What is a Rainfall Pasture by Land Type report?
The Rainfall Pasture by Land Type report provides historical rainfall, pasture growth, total standing dry matter (TSDM) and pasture cover information for a selected Lot/s on Plan by GLM land type. Rainfall is estimated (by interpolation) from surrounding rainfall stations, pasture cover from satellite imagery and modelling, and pasture growth from modelling alone. Time-series of rainfall, pasture growth, total biomass and cover are shown for the entire Lot/s on Plan.
What is included in this report?
The Rainfall and Pasture by Land Type
report includes:
- a table summarising annual rainfall, simulated pasture growth and ground cover percentages for the period 1975 to present;
- historical time series graphs showing annual rainfall, simulated annual pasture growth, monthly TSDM and monthly percentage ground cover;
- a summary of simulated annual pasture growth and ground cover (along with areas and percentages) for the major land types on the selected Lot/s on Plan.
Report sample and guides
Rainfall Pasture by Land Type report sample (PDF, 154.9 KB).
A more detailed description of the Rainfall Pasture by Land Type report is available in the FORAGE User Guide (PDF).
Subscription option
Periodic subscriptions (1, 2 or 3 months) are available for this report. See here for more information on how to subscribe and unsubscribe.
Common questions about rainfall and pasture reports
The rainfall and pasture by land type report will:
- indicate the rainfall and pasture growth over time
- provide historical context for assessing current pasture conditions
- provide historical context for assessing ground cover dynamics as influenced by rainfall and grazing management
- give estimates of simulated annual pasture growth and ground cover (along with areas and percentages) for the major land types on the selected Lot/s on Plan.
The Rainfall and Pasture by Land Type report calculates pasture growth using the GRASP grazing systems model based on Grazing Land Management (GLM) land type parameters. Calculations use daily inputs of interpolated rainfall, solar radiation, minimum and maximum temperature, vapour pressure and potential evapotranspiration.
The information provided in the reports can be used to assess the climate and pasture growth variability over the last few decades for the selected Lot(s) on Plan. This information can support grazing land managers in their decision making (e.g. in estimating long-term carrying capacity).
Pasture growth and ground cover are provided by indicative land type for the lot/s plan with: area, % area, and percentile analyses. See ‘understanding percentiles’ video.
The historical ground cover information also provides an indication on how rainfall and stocking management influence ground cover which is useful in land condition assessment.
The GLM land type data (shapefile format) were originally developed by Department of Natural Resources and Mines (DNRM) based on regional ecosystems mapping and soil information. The data are on the Spatial Information Resource (SIR) database and have been updated by the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) in conjunction with the Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI) and the DNRM. For further information on the GLM land types of Queensland, visit the FutureBeef website.
The pasture growth values (kg/ha) within this report represent a weighted response, which includes all tree density impacts (as indicated by foliage projective cover - FPC) across the land types for a property.
The climate information is obtained from Queensland Government’s SILO database. SILO contains Australian climate data from 1889 (current to yesterday) which are interpolated from station observations reported to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology
