Mirboo North farmers among Victoria's first to adopt virtual fencing

A MIRBOO North couple will be among the first in Victoria to trial virtual livestock collars on their farm, as new state legislation now permits the game-changing technology.

In addition to working full-time, Sarah Prime and Will Lawrey run a small beef operation across two properties. They say the virtual collars will allow them to manage cattle remotely and reshape their paddocks without having to install a single post. It will also allow them to keep a close eye on their animals' health.

The couple have one 40-acre farm in Mirboo North, and recently purchased another 40-acre farm in Mount Eccles. They have about 40 cows and sell roughly 20 beef packs a year through their direct-to-market business.

After purchasing the Mount Eccles farm, the pair noticed some aspects that were less than ideal.

"The fencing was pretty deteriorated, and also not where I'd like to have them," Will said.

"There are a few gullies and sort of wet seeps in winter, but really good pasture in summer."

When considering travel costs and reconfiguring and replacing fencing, the couple found that it was comparable to investing in virtual collars. However, the added flexibility that the collars provide made it a "no-brainer" according to Will.

The eShepherd collars, provided by Gallagher, use GPS technology to create virtual fence lines. When cattle approach the boundary set by the farmer, the collar first emits an audio cue. If the animal continues to move forward, it delivers a mild pulse.

"They recommend that you train them first in a pretty nice, easy paddock," Will said.

"You set up one virtual fence that they can interact with and have three hard fences on each side, and you slowly increase or decrease that fence line to train them."

Over time, most cattle end up responding to the sound cue alone. The system also measures the ratio between sound cues and pulses, with farmers encouraged to aim for 80% compliance from the sound cue.

The collars have a range of other benefits, including tracking movement and rumination, while also sending alerts if an animal stops moving for too long or shows signs of distress.

The real-time visibility is a huge benefit for Sarah.

"It's the difference between going 'I need to go to Mount Eccles because I haven't been there for a couple of days', versus 'everyone looks happy. I can probably go tomorrow because I'm sort of constantly seeing how things are going," she said.

"With this virtual fencing, I can be in the office and go right, these guys are ready to move to this strip of grass and do that. And get home, and it's already done," added Will.

The rollout was only recently made possible in Victoria due to changes in regulations, which now approve the technology for cattle.

"It's been quite significant," Sarah said.

"My understanding was that it was legislation that was in place because of previous legislation around puppy farms. These collars didn't exist when those types of laws were written, so inadvertently they'd been caught up in that."

Sarah said farmers had been lobbying for the changes, especially in areas like Gippsland, where steep farming terrain can often be hazardous and expensive to fence properly.

"It really opens up opportunities to optimise grazing and make those properties more cost-efficient," she said.

The couple signed their contract with Gallagher on December 1 last year and were just the second in Victoria to sign up for the technology.
Collars are recommended for cattle over 200 kg. At that size, the collar will not interfere with grazing at all.

"They'll still be on their mothers when we first put them on, and they'll sort of help that training process, and then we'll wean the cattle, and it'll just be their way of life," Sarah said.