New Zealand farming siblings use Gallagher eShepherd collars to unlock hill-country pasture, lifting returns to $5,000 per hectare.
Next-generation farmers George and Julia Hardwick-Smith have integrated virtual fencing technology into their family’s century-old Kohonui property, doubling the profitability of steep hill-country paddocks and modernizing their rotational grazing system. The 1,500-hectare operation, which includes approximately 700 hectares of grazable land, runs 300 bulls alongside 180 breeding cows and 2,500 ewes, utilizing agritech innovation to significantly enhance pasture utilization and animal performance.
The adoption of virtual fencing builds upon a precision “techno grazing” model introduced four years ago. Previously, stock were shifted daily or every second day between narrow pasture cells divided by physical electric tape and step-in pigtail standards. While the manual method delivered high feed conversion and nutrient recycling, managing temporary physical fences across steep, slippery hill terrain during winter posed severe access and labor constraints.
To eliminate physical fencing barriers, the operation deployed 112 solar-powered Gallagher eShepherd collars across its bull herd, paired with an on-farm communications tower. The system enables managers to set, monitor, and adjust grazing boundaries remotely via a smartphone application. When cattle approach a designated boundary, the collar emits an audio cue; if an animal fails to turn back, it receives a mild electric pulse, replacing physical fences with conditioned behavioral cues.
The digital fencing setup has unlocked previously underutilized, hard-to-access blocks across the farm, such as an isolated 30-hectare flat area where manual fencing was impractical. By ensuring uniform grazing and preventing stock from camping near water troughs or under shade trees, cattle consume pasture evenly down to the target residual before moving, recycling manure and urine directly into target soil zones.
Financial returns have reflected the technology’s impact. Land under the virtual fencing system has seen gross returns climb from traditional baseline levels of approximately $2,000 per hectare up to $4,500–$5,000 per hectare—equating to roughly $1,200 per head—more than offsetting the initial capital cost of collars and signal tower infrastructure.
Source: Farmers Weekly NZ
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