About GreenDate

The concept of green dates has been around for many years. In Northern Australia with a distinctive dry and wet season it is possible to estimate how many days feed are needed from the end of the growing season to a point when there is likely to be adequate rainfall that will allow for pasture growth. A feed budget based on the probable length of the dry season has the potential to reduce the extent of supplementary feeding and reduces stress on the pasture resource and stock owner.

A generalised estimate for the start of effective pasture growth is 50mm of rain over 3 days. Most tropical pastures need a temperature of 20°C to grow, but moisture is usually the main limiting factor in most northern grazing areas.