Introduction
LIC SPACE was introduced to New Zealand farmers in 2017. The services used satellite imagery to perform pasture measurement calculations on, sending farmers a report of their pasture covers.
The system will use satellites that pass over New Zealand each day, capturing imagery, and when the given image is clear enough to use, it will allow for a detail pasture report to be provided to the farmers on the service within 24 hours.
What this means for farmers is that there is now no need to complete a pasture walk, which for many is a time consuming task on farm.
News Release Update
On March 31st 2025 LIC announced that they are going to be farewelling their SPACE service that was launched back in 2017. This has come after the senior LIC leadership team and the LIC board undertook a review of the SPACE service as they wanted to make sure that it was aligned with their future strategies and focuses.
SPACE customers have been given the option to either stay with the program until the closing date (31st May 2025) or opt out earlier. LIC has mentioned that SPACE client data that is in MINDA Land and Feed will be available to customers after the system has been closed down.
What next?
The question all farmer who are currently using the service is, “what next?”, “what else can I use?”.
LIC has announced that they are going to be working with Aimer Farming, Halter, and Pasture.io, making sure that there is going to be a easy transition for farmers that are currently using SPACE. Customers that want to use one of the other services will need to fill out a handover form has been provided for the farmers to fill out, giving LIC permission to share current SPACE data with the chosen party.
Photo by LIC (Livestock Improvement Corporation)
Aimer farming posted on the 17th April 2025 a ‘special transition package’ is being offered to LIC SPACE customers that wish to move over to Aimer Farming. This will be available to customers from the 1st Juno 2025, and offered at the same price that LIC SPACE has already been charging these customers.
What is included for customers that wish to move:
- Satellite pasture measurement (like for like)
- AIMER vision smartphone measurement
- Partial farm walks
- Interactive feed wedge (14-day paddock pasture mass forecast included)
- Scenario testing
- Paddock performance insights
Pasture.io and Halter are yet to comment on any transfer information.
