AN Innishannon-based businessman has entered into a groundbreaking partnership with an agri- and climate-tech company, in a move that may transform how grass is managed on Irish farms.

Tim Casey, founder of Cork Grassland Services (CGS), is partnering with Dublin-based Proveye to roll out its remote-sensing pasture management platform across his network of dairy and beef farmers.

Tim, originally from Innishannon, founded CGS eight years ago while still studying at UCC, after a few years working with Teagasc in Moorepark, Fermoy.

When grass measuring became a requirement for derogation farmers in 2020, demand for his service surged.

Now aged 30, he works with dairy farmers across Cork, Waterford and Limerick, supported by a team of 10.

‘They could each walk five or six farms a day, covering up to 25km; it’s extremely labour-intensive,’ Tim said. ‘I always knew there had to be a more efficient way to measure grass, whether by drone, quad-bike attachments or satellite imagery. What we offered was always going to be short term as I knew technology would eventually replace us.

‘I’d been looking for the right partner, and so had Proveye. They have the technology, and we can interpret it to provide farmers with more accurate advice and consistent data.’

Typically, CGS would visit farms 30 to 35 times a year.

The new system allows grass to be monitored weekly, and even twice a week during the main grazing season, effectively doubling the amount of grazing data and advice available.

‘Farmers generally measure only the home platform, not silage or heifer ground, but now every hectare can be monitored,’ Tim explained.

For farmers, the sign-up process is simple.

They provide their herd number, and Proveye digitises the entire farm, mapping each paddock.

The platform then downloads satellite imagery from the European Space Agency every three days, using AI models to generate daily grass covers and seven-day growth forecasts for CGS.

The technology extends beyond grass measurement as Proveye is also developing tools that can map the precise levels of red and white clover, herbs, weeds, grass species and bare soil in paddocks.

Variable-rate fertiliser mapping, currently in development, could help farmers cut fertiliser bills by up to 30% in the future, without compromising grass performance.

Proveye, an award-winning agritech spin-out from University College Dublin, was founded in 2019 by Nick Holden and Jerome O’Connell.

Under the new partnership, CGS will integrate Proveye’s satellite-based monitoring technology into its grassland advisory service, providing near real-time data on paddock grass cover, growth forecasts and silage yields.

These insights will enable CGS to advise farmers each week on meal feeding rates, paddock selection, daily grazing allocations, when to remove surplus grass for silage, and when to introduce supplementary feed during grass shortages.

The shift marks a transition from physically walking farms to remotely measuring grass growth

For farmers, the benefits include faster and more scalable decision-making, improved grass utilisation, reduced costs, and stronger resilience to climate and market pressures.