The goal of Time2Graze is to reduce ruminant methane emissions by using satellite technology to pinpoint when pasture forage is at its peak nutritional value. This allows livestock to make the most of available feed, improving productivity while lowering methane output, according to the Global Methane Hub, which is spending US$4.7m on this project.
Operations will begin in Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and South Africa - countries where grazing systems dominate.
While livestock production supports the livelihoods of millions and contributes to global food and nutrition security, it is a major source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, particularly methane, which has a significantly higher global warming potential than carbon dioxide.
“Grazing livestock systems are common worldwide but highly variable and seasonally constrained. Time2Graze empowers farmers with real-time information about standing biomass to sustainably increase milk and meat production while reducing methane emissions,” noted Dr Santiago Rafael Fariña, senior agriculture program officer at the Global Methane Hub
Time2Graze is co-led by the World Resources Institute (WRI), Uruguay’s National Agriculture Research Institute (INIA), the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
“With Time2Graze, we are bringing together Earth Observation data, pasture models, and producer knowledge into one decision-support system,” remarked Dr Juan Andrés Cardoso, plant ecophysiologist with CIAT. “This provides real-time alerts and predictive forecasts to help livestock producers manage grazing intensity more effectively.”
Feed digestibility
The initiative will provide near-real-time satellite-based estimates of grassland biomass, tracking pasture levels across 10-meter-by-10-meter grids every five days. According to the hub, even a 10% improvement in feed digestibility can lead to a 20% reduction in methane.
Hayden Montgomery, agriculture program director, Global Methane Hub, said the project transforms publicly available satellite data into actionable insights for farmers. “We selected the Sentinel platform as our foundation because it provides high-quality, open-source satellite information.”
However, satellite data alone is not enough. To ensure confidence in information captured hundreds of kilometres above the ground, it must be validated through fieldwork, he told AgTechNavigator.
This ‘ground truth’ work is both essential and often underfunded. Time2Graze establishes protocols for consistent data collection so that field information can be integrated across regions, systems, and scales.
“The more high-quality, interoperable data generated, the stronger, the more reliable the calibrations and insights become,” stressed Montgomery.
A key strength of Time2Graze is its bottom-up approach, he said.
By involving those closest to the land - farmers, pastoralists, and local institutions – the project ensures that decision-support tools are practical, trusted, and relevant; validation and decision-support tools are co-developed with people on the ground, ensuring outputs are scientifically robust yet directly applicable, he explained.
Economic benefits
The approach looks to improve the economic and environmental sustainability of grazing systems by better matching biomass availability to animal demand, synchronizing supply and demand dynamics, and improving both the quality and quantity of pasture biomass.
“This should unlock economic benefits for those who manage livestock and at the same time deliver on broader sustainability goals, including the reduction of methane.”
Another important co-benefit is resilience to climate extremes, he outlined. By combining satellite data, field observations, and pasture growth models, the initiative can project how current biomass and stocking rates may interact with future weather or climate events. “This would enable producers to proactively manage risks such as droughts or floods,” said Montgomery.
The project also addresses the lack of access to reliable information, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Many producers lack the tools to connect biomass availability, stocking rates, and climate projections in ways that inform daily or seasonal decisions, he reported.
By creating a platform that allows for data interoperability and integration across multiple agroecological conditions, the project benefits even countries not directly involved in the initial phase, added Montgomery.
Expert led discussion on methane emissions in Amsterdam
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Key topics will include:
• Cost Responsibility: Who should fund methane-reducing feed additives, and how to make them financially sustainable for farmers and supply chains.
• Feed & Breeding Innovations: The role of feed optimization and selective breeding in cutting methane while enhancing productivity and profitability.
• Cattle Vaccines: Long-term potential of methane-reducing vaccines and how to navigate research, regulatory, and commercialization hurdles.
• Manure Management: Techniques like digesters, acidification, and solid-liquid separation to reduce emissions and improve farm efficiency.
• Public-Private Partnerships: How collaboration between industry and government can accelerate adoption of methane abatement technologies.
This compelling conversation will be led by Justin Zahra, Director, EU Agriculture Program, Environmental Defense Fund. Experts include Pablo Ross, Chief Scientific Officer, STgenetics, Caroline Heller, Chief Business Officer, Rumin8, John Hammond, Immunogenetics Group Leader, Pirbright Institute, and David MacDonald, Head of Ventures, AgriZero.
Project coordination
The hub has a coordination role in the project, but the management of satellite and data acquisition is led by WRI, building on experience from the Global Pasture Watch initiative, which mapped rangeland and pastureland extent and produced publicly available data layers.
Interpretation, and application of this information are conducted by regional partners: INIA in Uruguay and Argentina, CIAT in Colombia and Brazil, and WWF offices in Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria. Local actors - including producer associations, pastoralist groups, and companies - are actively engaged in each country.
Time2Graze is designed as a public asset, with plans to expand into additional countries through pilot projects and collaborations with governments, companies, and philanthropic organizations. “The first participating countries will serve as ‘lighthouse’ sites, demonstrating methods, tools, and knowledge that can be scaled to neighbouring regions with similar production systems.”
Genetic selection, feed additives, methane vaccines
Time2Graze is just one project that the Global Methane Hub is involved in as regards feed efficiency.
“We are applying the same logic in another project focused on dairy systems, where feed is often provided but not properly balanced. Through feed surveys, feed analyses, and public databases, we are developing decision-support tools for ration balancing in dairy systems. This project is already operational across 19 different geographies. By ensuring animals receive adequate nutrition, we help farmers produce more milk, support local economies and food security, and reduce methane emissions per unit of milk produced,” reported Montgomery.
While animal health is an important part of the hub’s overall strategy, it also sees innovation as a critical component.
“Optimizing the production of milk, meat, and fiber in livestock systems globally can significantly reduce emissions intensity, but it is unlikely to be sufficient to lower methane in absolute terms to the level we need. To address this, we are investing in new technologies and solutions that are cost-effective, safe, and proven.
“We have set up accelerators to support the development of innovations, including an enteric fermentation R&D accelerator. This work focuses on low-methane genetic selection, feed additives, methane vaccines, microbiome measurement, and animal physiology. To date, we have already deployed over $100m in funding to accelerate research in these areas,” outlined Montgomery.
The goal is to integrate these solutions into optimized livestock systems, reducing methane further without compromising productivity.
“Over time, we hope that even solutions that are currently more expensive will become accessible and cost-effective, ensuring both productivity gains and climate benefits are realized.”
