Farmers can spend thousands of dollars on fencing each year. Fencing is perhaps the most critical piece of infrastructure on a farm, but traditional permanent fencing isn’t always enough.
Virtual fencing was developed to provide farmers of grazing animals an alternative to moveable fencing. It works by enabling farmers to create a virtual fence via an app that communicates with a collar worn by each animal. Animals are trained to respond to prompts provided by the collar, which can also collect and communicate data to help alert farmers to any health or production issues.
When a flock of 25 sheep were collard and their grazing habits monitored, it was found that around 25% of the trial paddock remained ungrazed. With the virtual fencing technology, an additional 65 head of sheep could have been carried in that paddock.
The system involves livestock being fitted with GPS collars which emit sounds and weak electric current that is variable based on the cow’s location and behaviour. The system is smart enough to know if the cow is moving in the correct direction (where the farmer has indicated they want the cattle), or spooked and unable to respond to the collar’s stimulation.
Image credit: Agersen’s
Farmers have had success using the collars in break feeding, where the animals are rotated around large pastures systematically to improve regrowth. They’ve also used the devices to keep animals away from sensitive riparian zones. The federal government has supported the product with $2.6 M in funding to test the program, dubbed eShepherd. The first on-farm trials are underway in Tumbaruma NSW.
While the new technology of the eShepherd system is estimated to cost about $5000 to set up and then $60-90 for each collar and ongoing maintenance, this is significantly less than the estimated $5000 per kilometre it costs producers to put up and maintain a standard fence. While virtual fencing won’t replace traditional fencing, it will considerably reduce the costs associated with building and maintaining physical fencing. By automating the control of livestock grazing, virtual fencing has the potential to improve animal health and welfare, while increasing productivity and profitability by cutting labour, fencing and other input costs.
Agersen’s eShepherd is expected to be commercially available in early 2018.
