Determining the optimal harvesting time for silage is a challenge for livestock farmers, which is influenced by several different factors. To feed the animals, a sufficient amount of silage of sufficient quality is needed every year in order to secure the animals' high production level. High-quality silage also has a significant impact on the farm's profitability. 

The fluent utilization of new technology to help farm-level work and decision-making still requires development of methods. More new calibration data from domestic, multi-species grasses from different growth zones is needed for NIR analyzers and drones, in order to improve the reliability of the use of the devices and scale their use to the farms. 

The purpose of the project is to test and develop new technologies to support the decision-making of farms for determining the optimal silage harvesting time and for evaluating the quality and quantity of forage. Through the utilization of developing new technologies, decision-making on farms is speeded up, high-quality silage secures the production and well-being of animals, and resources and production inputs can be allocated better, which has a significant financial impact.

The project is implemented by Jamk University of Applied Sciences, Savonia University of Applied Sciences and The Finnish Geospatial Research Institute (FGI). The innovation group includes Kapsala Farm, Veräjäaho Farm, HRV Farm Oy, MTY Huusko, Vakkamäki farm and Kyrönniemen Maatila Oy.

The project is implemented with the support of the EU Rural Development Fund.