19 And in the case of a herd with multiple N3 collars, when one animal’s collar is updated, the rest will receive it automatically, thanks to Nofence’s proprietary collar-to-collar communication. This technology supports rotational grazing to ensure pastures aren’t overgrazed. It can also help farmers reduce labor costs. And with a containment rate of 99.7 percent, the animals are almost always right where they are supposed to be, explained Joachim Kähler, Chief Executive Officer of Nofence. Nofence said that as the animal approaches the boundary of the virtual fence, an audio warning is emitted and increases in pitch as the animal gets closer to the boundary. If the animal reaches the boundary, a mild electrical pulse travels through the chain of the collar to redirect the animal back to the herd. A unique feature on the N3 collar is its reproductive management capabilities. The collar tracks rumination, pedometry, and heat cycle scores. “When the animal comes into heat she has an increased movement and a decreased rumination pattern,” Yates said. “And we’re able to track that and identify and automatically record that for the producer in the system. So, they can go back and look and see when a cow returns to cyclicity after calving, (and) how many times a cow comes into heat whenever you have a bull present.” Another available feature is the app’s grazing report. Producers can customize the report to include whichever information is important. “It allows you to download what you’ve done over the course of a time period, and you can select that time period based off of whatever parameters you want, like if you have to submit it for a grant, or if you just want to know what the grazing pattern is,” noted Yates. Two future upgrades are already in the works. One will allow producers to schedule moves ahead of time, and the other is calving detection to alert a producer that an animal may have calved. Currently, farmers across six countries are using an estimated 200,000 N3 collars for their livestock management programs. Kähler was proud to share that producer feedback has been positive. “They’ve been received exceptionally well,” he said. “It’s five times more durable than previous hardware, and we backed that up with a 10-year warranty, which is twice the industry standard.” For more information, visit www.nofence.no/us. | pag PHOTO: Nofence
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