Page 10 - Demo

Page 10 %u2022 The Midwest Cattleman %u2022 January 2025Virtual realities have become commonplace for the human race, and places of escape. While video games simulate growing crops, breeding livestock and marketing farm produce, in the real world, cows really get out, grass really gets short and farmers and ranchers deal with real economic issues. Technology that merges the imaginary with reality now gives livestock their own virtual experience. Nofence grazing technology became commercially available in June 2024, and sets itself apart as the world%u2019s first commercial virtual fencing solution for livestock, controlling animals by GPS-collars and a smartphone app.Meghan Filbert, Senior Sales Manager for the U.S. division of the Norwaybased company, is on a mission to change the quality of life for livestock owners, and to make marginal or underutilized land more grazing accessible. %u201cI%u2019ve worked with livestock farmers for the past 15 years,%u201d said the Iowa native and Cornell University graduate. Filbert assisted upstate New York dairy farmers before returning to the Midwest to engage with the Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI), a nonprofit organization equipping farmers to build resilient farms and communities. The recent rise of the virtual fencing industry propelled Filbert to pursue a career perfectly fitted to her passions. %u201cI work with farmers to get them to graze cover crops and understand the economics of integrating livestock,%u201d Filbert said. %u201cI%u2019ve heard a thousand times that their reasons for not doing it is because they don%u2019t have a fence or the existing fence is in disrepair.%u201d Filbert is bent on eliminating the excuses, while easing the angst associated with breaking tradition. %u201cThis technology is completely life changing!%u201d she said.Tuning In to TechnologyThe Nofence grazing technology establishes a digital boundary. A collar worn by each adult animal in the herd communicates with an easy-to-use app and web portal via the mobile network. The fencing function relies on GPS solar-powered collars. When an animal crosses the Nofence boundary, the collar plays an audio warning through a scale of tones, starting at a low pitch and rising gradually as the animal moves through the boundary zone. If the whole scale has been played, a mild, but effective, electric pulse is delivered through the collar. The animal learns to recognize the audio warning and turns around to avoid the electric pulse. %u201cWhen I am working with producers who understand the principles of soil health and want to integrate livestock into crop rotations or want to improve grazing management, that%u2019s when we can introduce this technology,%u201d Filbert said, %u201cIt is life changing because you can now take your animals to areas that were very hard to graze prior %u2013 steep terrain, wooded and hard-to-fence acreage. It can unlock new grazing by Brenda BlackA LIFE WITHOUTFENCESHow virtual fencing could change the game for grazing managementPhoto courtesy of Nofence