Cibo Labs PastureKey Review Australia 2026: The Satellite Pasture Tool Graziers Should Trial

Verdict (TL;DR): If you run cattle or sheep on more than a few hundred hectares and you're still guessing how much feed is in each paddock, PastureKey is the satellite tool to trial first. It's Queensland-built, uses European Space Agency Sentinel-2 imagery refreshed every five days, and turns it into a paddock-by-paddock estimate of standing dry matter using machine-learning models trained on more than 7,500 ground-truth sites across Australia. An October 2025 model upgrade roughly halved its error. Pricing is public, in AUD, and starts at $500 a year ex GST. Skip it only if your country is so timbered or so cloud-prone that the satellite can't see the ground, or if you want livestock records and crop scouting in the one app — PastureKey does feed, and only feed. Score: 21/25 — ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Australian Fit: 5/5 — gate passed. Last reviewed: 7 June 2026 by Adam.

What Cibo Labs PastureKey is

PastureKey answers one question that decides a grazing business: how much feed have I got, and where? Instead of walking paddocks with a quadrat or eyeballing it from the ute, you get a satellite-derived estimate of pasture biomass for every paddock, updated every five days.

The maker is Cibo Labs, an agricultural data-analytics company based in Queensland. It was co-founded by Phil Tickle, a geospatial specialist with more than 30 years in remote sensing for natural-resource management, and Dr Peter Scarth, a remote-sensing scientist who holds a position at the University of Queensland's School of Earth and Environmental Sciences. The wider team includes several PhD-level remote-sensing scientists. For an "AI in agriculture" tool, that scientific bench is unusual and it matters — the maths is the product.

PastureKey measures Total Standing Dry Matter (TSDM), which Cibo defines as "the dry equivalent of the amount of pasture biomass available per hectare (kg/ha)," split into green (actively growing) and dead (dry, less digestible) biomass. From that it derives Feed on Offer (FOO), the number graziers actually use to set stocking rates and plan rotations.

This is the most metrics-transparent AI tool in our AgTech slate. Where most vendors say "powered by AI" and stop, Cibo publishes its accuracy figures and its training-data count, and writes up its model changes in detail. That is the kind of honesty this publication rewards.

What it costs in Australia

This is a genuinely refreshing section to write, because the numbers are public, in AUD, and clearly marked for GST. You won't find them on the glossy product page — they live in the Cibo Labs support knowledge base — but they are real, listed figures, not a "contact sales" wall.

PastureKey is sold as an annual (or monthly) subscription priced on the area you monitor. All prices are ex GST.

There are paid add-ons: Premium Support runs from $1,250 for properties under 100,000 ha, and historical back-processing of older imagery starts at $250 for smaller properties.

A 30-day free trial with full access to all features is offered on the product page.

There is also a genuinely free entry point. The Australian Feedbase Monitor (AFM) is free to Meat & Livestock Australia members and gives a coarser 80m (one-hectare) read on feed, against PastureKey's 10m resolution. So a curious MLA member can see Cibo's data on their country at no cost before deciding whether the finer 10m product is worth the subscription.

GST note: Cibo Labs lists prices ex GST, so an Australian buyer adds 10% GST. As a domestic AU supplier, Cibo charges GST in the normal way, and a GST-registered farming business can generally claim the input tax credit. Confirm the deductibility and credit treatment against your business with your accountant — this is general information, not tax advice.

Compared with the overseas SaaS tools we usually review, the value picture is clean: real AUD pricing, a free trial, a free MLA tier, and no currency-conversion guesswork. The one transparency gripe is that the price list is buried in the help centre rather than shown on the product page — a small but real friction.

How it works in practice

There is no hardware. You don't install sensors, weather stations or collars. PastureKey is a web platform, so setup is "no hardware to install, and no complex setup or maintenance required". You define your paddock boundaries, and the satellite does the rest.

The data source is the European Space Agency's Sentinel-2 satellites, which "capture high-resolution images of your property every five days" at 10m resolution. After each overpass, Cibo's machine-learning models convert the raw spectral signal into a TSDM estimate for each paddock, "combining it with ground-truth information" from thousands of on-ground measurements.

In daily use, you open the map, read the colour-coded biomass for each paddock, and use the green-versus-dead split and the FOO number to decide which mob goes where and when to move them. The feed estimate updates roughly every five days, so you're working off a current picture rather than last month's walk.

The numbers can also leave the app. "TSDM and Feed-On-Offer (FOO) predictions can be automatically pushed into third-party systems like AgriWebb and PairTree". That is the important bit for anyone already keeping livestock records: Cibo measures the feed, AgriWebb manages the stock against it, and the two talk to each other.

What it does well

• It publishes its accuracy, and the accuracy is good. The product page states a median prediction error of "less than 200kg/ha" and an R-squared of "0.85". An R2 of 0.85 means the model explains most of the real variation in pasture biomass — strong for satellite-derived estimates across a continent of pasture types.
• The model is genuinely improving, and they show their work. The October 2025 upgrade cut Mean Absolute Error "from 235 kg/ha to 113 kg/ha" and Mean Absolute Percentage Error "from 25% to just 13%," using a redesigned architecture with "50% fewer parameters" and calibration across "over 7,500 on-ground reference sites across Australia". Roughly halving the error in one release is a real result, not marketing.
• It's built on real science, by real scientists. Co-founder Dr Peter Scarth holds a UQ position in remote sensing, and the team carries multiple PhD-level remote-sensing scientists. The "AI" here is credentialed, not a wrapper.
• National scale. Cibo's platforms cover "340 million hectares" of Australian grazing land, with 40-plus million hectares under PastureKey. The model has seen Australian country, not just a US trial farm.
• It plays nicely with the tools graziers already run. Native push to AgriWebb and PairTree means the feed data lands where the rest of the farm's records live.

What it doesn't do well

• It only does feed. PastureKey measures pasture biomass and ground cover. It is not a livestock-management system, not a virtual-fencing tool, and not a cropping product. For paddock records and mob movements you still need AgriWebb; for crop NDVI, weed mapping and broadacre cropping you'd look at DataFarming. PastureKey is a specialist, and you should buy it as one.
• Satellites can't see through cloud or canopy. Sentinel-2 is optical, so persistent cloud delays a clean read, and heavily timbered or scrub country degrades the estimate. Cibo says the October 2025 model improved "visibility across cloud-prone regions", but the physics still bites in the wet-season north and under tree cover. The 10m pixel also means very small or strip paddocks get fewer data points.
• It estimates; it doesn't measure your exact paddock. A median error "less than 200kg/ha" is excellent for satellite work, but it is still an estimate. On thin feed, a 150kg/ha error is a big slice of what's actually there. Treat FOO as a strong decision input, not gospel, and ground-truth it occasionally.
• The price list is hidden. Public, AUD and GST-clear — but tucked in the help centre, not on the product page. Buyers shouldn't have to dig.
• Data ownership is good; retention isn't spelled out. The terms are actually better than most. Cibo's End User Licence Agreement vests intellectual property in your property and spatial data — and any derived product — with you, the customer, "on its creation," and on termination Cibo agrees to "deliver to, destroy or otherwise deal with" your uploaded data "as directed by" you. You can also pull your data out as CSV and XLS downloads at any time. The one gap: the EULA sets no explicit data-retention period, so if you care how long history is kept, ask.

Australian fit

This is where PastureKey is strongest, and it clears our gate comfortably.

Built here, calibrated here. Cibo Labs is a Queensland company with Australian founders and an Australian science team. The model is calibrated on "over 7,500 on-ground reference sites across Australia" spanning local soil types, vegetation communities and climate zones, with the October 2025 release specifically improving "Northern Rangelands and Western Australia" coverage. This is not a foreign tool retro-fitted to Australia; Australia is the training set.

Industry-backed. Cibo's free Australian Feedbase Monitor is delivered to Meat & Livestock Australia members, and MLA is listed among its partners. For a livestock producer, an MLA-aligned data source carries weight.

AUD, GST, local supplier. Pricing is in Australian dollars, ex GST, from a domestic supplier. No FX conversion, no imported-services GST quirks, and a GST-registered business can generally claim the credit (confirm with your accountant).

Data residency — and it's offshore. Here's the catch worth knowing: despite being a Queensland company serving Australian land, Cibo hosts customer data in the United States, not onshore. Its support centre states farm data sits on "secure Amazon Web Services (AWS) servers," with farm and paddock-boundary data in AWS's US-West region and the CRM in US-East. The underlying imagery is public ESA Sentinel-2 data, so the sensitivity is lower than for, say, a health or legal tool — but your paddock boundaries and account details do leave the country. If Australian data sovereignty is a hard requirement for your business, factor that in before you sign.

The bush-connectivity reality. PastureKey itself runs in the cloud and needs no on-farm hardware, which sidesteps the patchy-mobile problem for data capture. But you still need a connection to view the maps. On properties with poor or no mobile coverage, plan to check feed when you're in range or on the homestead Wi-Fi, not out in the back paddock. This is a constraint of rural Australia, not of Cibo specifically — but it's real, and it's worth saying plainly.

Not professional agronomic advice. PastureKey is a decision-support tool. It does not replace on-ground assessment by you or your agronomist, particularly for stocking decisions in a tightening season or a drought. Use it to sharpen judgement, not to outsource it.

Australian Fit score: 5/5.

Alternatives

• DataFarming — the cropping counterpart. Where PastureKey does pasture biomass for graziers, DataFarming does crop NDVI, variability and weed mapping for broadacre croppers. Consider it if your business is cropping rather than livestock. See our DataFarming review.
• AgriWebb — the livestock-records system PastureKey pushes its feed data into. They're complements, not rivals: Cibo measures the feed, AgriWebb manages the stock. Consider AgriWebb if your first need is paddock records, mob movements and compliance. See our AgriWebb review.
• Halter — solar collars for virtual fencing and remote mustering. A different lever entirely: Halter moves the cattle, PastureKey measures their feed. Consider Halter if labour and fencing are your bottleneck. See our Halter review.
• Pairtree Intelligence — the farm-data aggregator that also receives PastureKey's feed numbers. Consider Pairtree if you want one dashboard pulling together many farm data sources. See our Pairtree Intelligence review.

Bottom line

PastureKey is the AgTech tool I'd most readily call honest. It tells you what its model does, how accurate it is, what changed in the last release, and exactly what it costs in Australian dollars. The science behind it is real and credentialed, the October 2025 upgrade roughly halved the error, and the whole thing is built and calibrated on Australian country. For a grazier carrying stock across hundreds or thousands of hectares, knowing your feed to within roughly 113kg/ha, paddock by paddock, every five days, is a genuine edge — in normal seasons and especially in a dry one.

It isn't everything. It measures feed and nothing else, so it sits alongside AgriWebb rather than replacing it. Optical satellites lose to cloud and canopy. And while the pricing is public and fair, the data-ownership terms aren't spelled out, so ask before you commit years of feed history to it.

The recommendation is easy: if you graze livestock, start on the free Australian Feedbase Monitor if you're an MLA member, or take the 30-day PastureKey trial, and judge it against your own paddocks. For most graziers, a fortnight of watching the feed map against what's actually under the stock will tell you whether it's worth the $500-and-up a year. For its category — satellite pasture measurement for Australian grazing — it is the most transparent and best-credentialed option we've reviewed.

Score

Australian Fit gate: 5/5 — gate passed.

Frequently asked questions

Is Cibo Labs PastureKey available in Australia?

Yes — and it's built here. Cibo Labs is a Queensland company with Australian founders and a local science team, and its model is calibrated on more than 7,500 ground sites across Australia.

Does PastureKey charge in AUD?

Yes. Pricing is public, in Australian dollars and clearly marked ex GST, from a domestic supplier — no FX conversion. Annual plans start at $500 ex GST for properties under 500 ha.

Is there a free plan or free trial?

Both. There's a 30-day free trial with full access, plus a genuinely free entry point — the Australian Feedbase Monitor, free to Meat & Livestock Australia members at a coarser 80m resolution.

Where is my farm data stored?

Offshore, in the US. Despite being a Queensland company, Cibo hosts farm and paddock-boundary data on AWS US-West and its CRM on US-East. If data sovereignty is a hard requirement, factor that in.

Who is PastureKey best for?

Graziers running cattle or sheep across hundreds or thousands of hectares who want a paddock-by-paddock feed estimate. It does feed and only feed — pair it with AgriWebb for livestock records.

Read next

• Category guide: Best AgTech & Agriculture AI Tools in Australia 2026

Sources

1. Cibo Labs — PastureKey product page (Sentinel-2 5-day/10m imagery, machine learning + ground truth, median error <200kg/ha, R2 0.85, 7,000+ GPS sites, TSDM/FOO definitions, AgriWebb/PairTree push, 30-day free trial, no hardware) — https://www.cibolabs.com.au/pasturekey — Wayback: https://web.archive.org/web/20260412134734/https://www.cibolabs.com.au/pasturekey — checked 7 June 2026
2. Cibo Labs — Company home page (Queensland-based, products list, 340M ha coverage, MLA and partner list, free Australian Feedbase Monitor) — https://www.cibolabs.com.au/ — Wayback: https://web.archive.org/web/20260521022105/https://www.cibolabs.com.au/ — checked 7 June 2026
3. Cibo Labs — Team page (founders Phil Tickle and Dr Peter Scarth, UQ remote-sensing position, PhD-level science team) — https://www.cibolabs.com.au/team — Wayback: https://web.archive.org/web/20260521010156/https://www.cibolabs.com.au/team — checked 7 June 2026
4. Cibo Labs blog — "More accurate than ever: major model upgrade for PastureKey users" (rollout 8–21 Oct 2025, MAE 235→113 kg/ha, MAPE 25%→13%, 50% fewer parameters, redesigned architecture, 7,500+ AU reference sites, Northern Rangelands/WA coverage, post dated 7 Nov 2025) — https://blog.cibolabs.com.au/blog/more-accurate-than-ever-cibo-labs-delivers-major-model-upgrade-for-pasturekey-users — Wayback: https://web.archive.org/web/20251212225645/https://blog.cibolabs.com.au/blog/more-accurate-than-ever-cibo-labs-delivers-major-model-upgrade-for-pasturekey-users — checked 7 June 2026
5. Cibo Labs support — PastureKey subscription pricing (tiered AUD pricing $500–$11,250/yr ex GST, monthly options, premium support and back-processing add-ons) — https://support.cibolabs.com.au/en/knowledge/pasturekey-subscription — Wayback: https://web.archive.org/web/20251122070821/https://support.cibolabs.com.au/en/knowledge/pasturekey-subscription — checked 7 June 2026

The AI Directory Australia is an independent editorial publication. We don't accept payment for positive reviews. Read our Methodology and Affiliate Disclosure.