World-first 'digital eyes' to assess pasture cover

Agtech start-up Aimer Farming has announced the official launch of Aimer Vision - the platform’s ‘eyes’ - to New Zealand farmers.

The world-first vision AI toolset applies AI-driven machine vision techniques to assess pasture cover with around 90% accuracy via a five-second, 180-degree scan using a standard smartphone which can be done whilst farm workers are out doing day to day tasks.

Founder and chief technology officer of Aimer Farming, Jeremy Bryant points out that traditional pasture measurement methods are often labour-intensive, inconsistent and take hours of time to 'walk the farm' on a weekly basis.

“Aimer Vision delivers instant, AI-powered insights using a smartphone, allowing farmers to optimise grazing, reduce waste, and improve profitability - all without increasing labour costs,” says Bryant.

“Our industry estimates suggest that regular and accurate pasture measurement using Aimer Vision could boost farm profits by up to $400/ha - potentially adding $60,000 to $80,000 in annual revenue for an average-sized dairy farm.”

Prior to now, the tool was only available to select farms in BETA as part of a project funded by an Agmardt Agribusiness Innovation Grant. Now, having ingested 15,000 video scans across all four grazing seasons to improve accuracy, wider launch will significantly shift the way dairy sector operates, Bryant says.

Data gathering across a full year of seasons is also underway across Ireland to enable Aimer to launch in Europe.

“AI is revolutionising so many industries; and we believe farming should be one of them. Applied AI can help dairy farmers drive huge improvements in pasture measurement, management automation, profit and sustainability.

“We’ve been talking about Aimer Vision for a while now; and it’s exciting to have refined the product to a point where it’s ready for wide launch and a potential game-changer for users.”

Aimer Vision says its user-friendly smartphone application eliminates the need for specialised skills, making pasture measurement more accessible and helping to address ongoing labour shortages. By working to deliver more precise pasture data to Aimer’s underlying models, Aimer Vision can help optimise grazing patterns and feed management, directly contributing to increased farm productivity. Additionally, AI-driven predictive insights allow farmers to forecast pasture growth up to 21 days in advance, improving planning and resource allocation.

“Pasture management is a complex puzzle, requiring constant calculations, predictions and communication,” says Bryant.

“By building a ‘digital twin’ of each paddock on every farm, Aimer learns growth rate patterns, predicts pasture performance and offers tailored recommendations, from supplement levels to grazing plans. Aimer Vision is a powerful way of making sure farmers save even more time by making inputs easy and instant.”

The potential impact of Aimer Vision extends well beyond the farm gate, according to Phil Townend, chief commercial officer at Aimer Farming.

"AIMER is building the world's largest pasture productivity database, which could help global food corporations measure sustainability from farm to product, and input suppliers understand the efficacy of their products. The value of this data, alongside the productivity gains, is significant."

He adds that New Zealand's dairy sector is a key driver of the economy, but rising costs, labour shortages, and stricter environmental expectations mean farmers must find smarter ways to operate.

“AI-driven solutions like Aimer Vision offer a way to boost efficiency without increasing workforce pressure, helping farms remain competitive in a changing global market."

Aimer Farming made history in 2022 when it launched New Zealand’s first ‘Siri for farmers’ digital coach in your pocket for the dairy industry. Today, Aimer is used by over 170 farms in NZ and Australia and scaling rapidly via distribution partnerships with the likes of Fonterra Farm Source.