Virtual trial pushes ahead

On the same day, the NSW Government announced its endorsement of virtual fencing and herding technology. Since then, the Victorian Government has also backed its use, with new regulations expected by the end of the year.

These regulations will be partly informed by the Ellinbank research, which is due to finish on June 30.

Virtual fencing and herding technology is an animal management system that relies on cows wearing collars that use auditory and mild physical prompts to guide the animals to graze on fresh pasture.

Internet connectivity tracks the cows and downloads data to the farmer’s smartphone and desktop computer that enables them to instantly monitor their herd’s and individual cow’s location and wellbeing status.

The technology also eliminates the need for internal fences on a farm, with all their risks and maintenance needs.

One Tasmanian dairy farmer who has used the technology since 2023, Troy Ainslie, said adopting the collars had improved his animal welfare and management, pasture utilisation and staff wellbeing.

If a cow did not respond to the auditory stimulus of its collar, the software shuts down the technology to that animal, and Troy receives an alert on his phone.

“If the cow doesn’t move, the software pauses using the collar, I get an alert on my phone, and I go to investigate why that cow isn’t moving,” he said.

“Because there are many reasons why a cow isn’t moving — she could be calving early, she could be a downer cow, or many other reasons.

“As a basic rule, we drop what we’re doing and we go and check on that cow.”

After the NSW government’s announcement in late April, Rob McIntosh, chair of the NSW Farmers’ Animal Welfare Committee, said endorsing the technology would lead to lives being saved — both human and animal — during disasters.

It would also reduce the rollover machinery risk to humans who were trying to build and maintain fences on steep and undulating terrain.

“The technology can save lives by helping move livestock to safe areas during floods, fires, or other natural disasters, without putting humans or animals at risk,” Rob said.

“Virtual fencing is a game changer for farmers, and we are excited about the opportunities it provides for livestock management in NSW.

“It can also help reduce fencing costs, control noxious weeds — there’s almost no boundaries to what this technology can assist farmers with.”

Dairy Farmers Victoria president Mark Billing said virtual fencing technology could also help farmers protect sensitive vegetation, degraded soil areas and waterways from cattle and vehicle incursion.

Mark said he had been advocating to the Victorian Government for regulatory change rather than legislative change, and to implement on-farm trials by the end of this year.

He suggested using a funding model similar to the Internet of Things to support on-farm trials using virtual herding and grazing technology.

“I’ve met with Victorian Government representatives and explained we need assistance to deploy this technology, and helped them identify funding opportunities,” he said.

This would build on the current virtual herding research project at Ellinbank focused on dairy herds, and previous research completed by CSIRO and MLA for the beef industry, as well as university trials in NSW, Tasmania and South Australia.

“I think the application of this technology for a pasture-based dairy system clearly is the game changer,” Mark said.

“The research indicates obviously that there’s a minimal animal welfare impact when used correctly.

“The government is listening, but their main concern, obviously, is ensuring animal welfare. We accept that.

“We need to continue investing in the research for the industry, and we need to collaborate, obviously.”

On dairy farms, a herd of cows wearing the collars also learns to move itself to the dairy for milking, and return to fresh pasture.

A lot of the controversy around take-up of the technology has been around concerns the technology causes stress to cattle.

To guide its decision-making, the Victorian Government is funding the one-year research project at Ellinbank, which comes to its close at the end of June.

Meaghan Douglas, a research scientist at Agriculture Victoria’s Ellinbank SmartFarm, was a member of the panel discussion at GippsDairy’s Dairy Muster on April 30.

Meaghan is leading the demonstration project at Ellinbank that is using HALTER virtual herding and fencing technology and collars on the commercial milking herd.

Meaghan was heavily involved in training the cows with the HALTER technology and works closely with the project team to manage the milking herd and measure results.

“It’s been just incredible to watch the cows. The cows were pretty much trained [to virtual herding and grazing] within a couple of days,” she said.

“We could take the safety fence down that we were using, and the cows knew how to respond to the cues and they were very comfortable doing so.”

An auditory cue is followed by a vibration cue and generally that is the limit of cues necessary for the cow.

Mark Billing said he had met with representatives of the RSPCA to discuss their animal welfare concerns about a pulse cue.

Troy Ainslie pointed out that the HALTER technology in the collars of his milking herd did not work beyond the vibration cue — that if a cow did not respond to a vibration, all cues were automatically halted and he received an alert on his phone to investigate what was wrong with the cow.

RSPCA representatives had also visited Ellinbank SmartFarm, along with Victoria’s Agriculture Minister Ros Spence, to view the technology in action themselves, and seek clarification.

At Ellinbank, research has measured the impact on the cows of the three cues, and identified the cues are implemented in short bursts over a long period of time, with no pain or sound response from the cows.

“I think it’s really great technology,” Meaghan said.

“We’ve been trialling the effect of the technology on cows’ behaviour, rather than pasture use.

“But we’ve noted it’s much easier to make sure fresh pasture is getting into those cows at the back of the herd.

“The cows are always going back to [the paddock for] fresh feed, rather than waiting for the farmer to go down to the paddock and manually shift the fence for them.

“The cows just walk away from the dairy [when they are each finished milking], they didn’t stand at the dairy [on concrete, waiting for the herd to finish milking], and they aren’t being pressured by people, dogs, or quad bikes.”

Chris Paynter is a dairy operations assistant involved with Ellinbank SmartFarm’s commercial herd and responsible for grazing management on the farm.

He was also on the Dairy Muster panel of speakers.

Chris said the improvement in pasture utilisation by the herd justified the use of the HALTER collar technology.

“If I had my way, I would be ripping fences out of the farm now,” he said.

Chris said the technology also benefited milking the herd in batches, which was a benefit in summer.

“We’re going to segregate them into 150 to 200 cow herds, just so they’re not spending time on the concrete when it’s hot [to] limit stress that way,” Chris said.