François Labelle is an organic dairy producer and sheep farmer with more than 30 years of experience practicing pasture management. He is responsible for technological innovation projects and provides technical support to a team of advisors at Lactanet. He presented at the CFGA’s 15th Annual Conference, Roots to Success: The Foundation of Resilient Agriculture. His presentation focused on using technology, specifically the Happy Grass app to improve pasture management. 
 
François showed how by using the Happy Grass app, which is distributed in Canada by Lactanet, producers can more effectively manage their pastures and, by extension, milk quality throughout the grazing season. 
 
The second half of his presentation looked at three farms using the technology and took a dive into the data collected and the story it told about grazing management of each property. 
 
He started with the Pasture Plate Meter, a tool used for measuring pasture density. The data collected is fed into the app, along with data the producer inputs. The app makes calculations and provides producers with a clear picture of pasture quality and quantity. 
 
He showed the different reports and how that information can help farmers track what’s happening in their fields, and to their cattle, in real time, including changes to the quality of milk produced. 
 
The presentation concluded by looking at the data collected on three farms in Quebec. The farms were different sizes and in different parts of the province. The reports show the growing and grazing impact and allows farmers to manage their pastures based on yields and palatability. 
 
François closed his presentation by quoting André Voisin, the founder of rotational grazing. 
 
“Rotational pasture, it’s the art of making the cow and the grass meet at the right time,” he quoted before concluding, “And with these tools, we’re helping the art to be even better, and that’s the idea of these decision tools.” 
 

2024 conference recordings   

To hear all of this presentation, you can purchase access to it, and all of the recordings from the 2024 conference proceedings. Note, the recordings are available for free to those who registered for the 2024 conference. For more information, email [email protected].