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Practice the technique of an uninterrupted slow walking pace, taking care not to
“roll” the plate meter. This is where the plate is not square to the ground and it will
provide a false HIGH reading.
Lowering the plate meter consistently rather than rolling it, will
provide a more accurate reading.
The more regularly you take readings the better. Astute farmers will take readings
weekly, sometimes more often during critical times of the year and less frequently
during times of static conditions.
The more samples taken per paddock the less margin of error. We recommend 20
to 40 samples per paddock but if you have bad conditions ie. pugged paddocks,
then more samples should be taken.
Most paddocks will have areas of good growth and areas of poor growth. If recently
grazed, the pasture may be clumpy. Ensure that your walk includes representative
samples of both areas. Avoid tracks, stock camp sites and other uncharacteristic
areas.
Take samples every 3 paces or so, rather than choosing by eye the spot to sample.
This removes operator preference for long or short patches.
Be consistent. Plan the same walk every time although it can be
done in reverse. This allows each walk to be compared with another.
The plate meter can save recorded average height readings to a specific paddock
number which can be selected on the plate meter. Via the mini USB cable these
readings can then be downloaded from the plate meter and aligned with your
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