For arable farmers thinking about introducing cattle into their system, virtual fencing trials by four Scottish monitor farms have proved largely successful.
Four farmers were involved in the project and all reported positive results. A few animals managed to break out of the virtual perimeter and some collars came off. At two farms, some connectivity issues occurred.
The farms have all run cattle at grass this summer and have managed their grazing areas using the Monil collars and the associated app. Initially, they started the project by fitting the solar-powered collars, training their cattle to turn away when they hear the collar’s signal for the virtual fence, and then turned their cows out on upland and hill grazing. The virtual fence is set using the app, where the fence, individual animal location and movement, plus any escapees, are seen. The virtual fences can be moved and any breakouts managed remotely via the app, with notifications sent when cattle don’t move for a certain period.
Strathspey farmers Calum and Hamish Smith put their breakouts down to some disturbance from other groups of cattle. They had two heifers whose collars came off, and it was two or three weeks before they could put them back on. They noted that those animals were excessively testing the virtual fencing boundaries.
