Understanding Cover Confidence
Cover Confidence helps you understand how reliable the cover shown for a paddock is likely to be. When a paddock has a recent grazing or harvest record, Pasture.io has a stronger reference point for the cover it shows. When a paddock goes a long time without a recorded grazing or harvest, the reported cover can become less certain and may start to drift away from what you are seeing on farm.
Why you might see it
Cover Confidence is designed to help on longer rotations.
You may see it when a pasture paddock has gone a while without an updated grazing or harvest record and the Long Rotation Model is turned on.
What it is not
- It is not a grazing recommendation
- It does not mean the cover is definitely wrong
- It does not mean there is a problem with the paddock
- It is simply a signal to use a little more care and check your records
Where you will see it
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In Model Settings, where you can read more about what each level means

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In Paddocks > Reports > List as a coloured dot beside the paddock

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In the paddock preview, where you will see a clearer explanation
The Cover Confidence levels

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Orange: Cover confidence reducing
You may start to see this after around 2 months without a recorded grazing or harvest.
This means the reported cover may be starting to drift from current paddock conditions.
What to do:

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Red: Cover confidence reduced
You may see this as the gap gets closer to around 3 to 4 months.
This means the reported cover may differ more noticeably from what you are seeing on farm.
What to do:
- Use a bit more care with the cover shown- Make sure recent grazings or harvests have been recorded

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Purple: Cover confidence low
You may see this after a very long gap, usually more than around 4 months.
This means the reported cover may no longer reflect current paddock conditions well.
What to do:
- Add any missing grazing or harvest records
- Enter a manual cover if needed to bring the reading back in line
What you should do when you see it
If you see a Cover Confidence indicator:
- Check whether a grazing or harvest has happened but has not been recorded
- Add any missing records
- If the paddock has genuinely gone a long time without one of those events, enter a manual cover if needed
- Use your own on-farm judgement alongside the reported cover
Why this matters
Keeping grazing and harvest records up to date helps Pasture.io keep the reported cover more in line with what is happening in the paddock.
That gives you more confidence when planning grazing and making feed decisions.
In simple terms
Think of Cover Confidence as a trust signal for the cover number you see in Pasture.io.