Virtual Electronic Fence Controls Pasture Grazing

Virtual Electronic Fence Controls Pasture Grazing FENCING Fence Systems The concept of invisible fencing for dogs has spawned a new approach for pasture management by the Australian company Agersens The company is currently testing its GPS-enabled eShepherd™ software that controls livestock movement by sending electronic signals to collars that the animals wear Nancy Reilly of Agersens says “this system is the world’s first smart collar for livestock It allows a producer to move and monitor cattle 24/7 from a smart phone or tablet ” Reilly says that cattle fitted with an electronic eShepherd collar learn the boundaries of their “virtual fence” within a few days If they move beyond the boundary coordinates loaded into the collars on their necks a small audio tone is emitted followed by an electrical pulse Reilly says the pulse is less than half that of an electric fence and cattle soon realize where they can and can’t go The big difference between eShepherd and pet fencing is there are no wires with the cattle system The collar that cattle wear holds a GPS receiver to continually map their wherabouts It records grazing patterns where the animal walks and when it rests Alerts are sent to the producer if animal movement isn’t detected within a 12-hour period Electronics in the collar device are powered by two solar collectors on the collar Reilly says that pasture maps for eShepherd can be downloaded from Google earth or entered by GPS coordinates for property boundaries The producer enters grazing areas within those boundaries from the touch screen of a phone or tablet The boundaries are accurate enough to “fence off” sensitive vegetative areas difficult hilly terrain and take pressure off fences in poor repair Reilly says the system really provides exceptional rotational grazing management unlimited flexibility for managing pastures saves money on physical fencing carefully monitors herd grazing patterns and improves soil health through better grass management Product testing continues in Australia and New Zealand during 2018 and plans are for a 2019 roll out in North America Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Agersens 1100 – 1102 Toorak Road Camberwell VIC 3124 Australia ph +61 3 8849 8600; www agersens com

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