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04 Dec 2024

Unlocking Grazing Potential: Managing Hill Cattle With Monil Technology

As a leader in sustainable and innovative meat production, Foyle is embracing new technology and revolutionalising cattle management. Foyle Food Group’s ‘Farms of Excellence’ in Co. Tyrone has partnered with a Norwegian-based agri-tech company, Monil, in a hill-farm grazing trial which uses Virtual Fencing

What is Virtual Fencing?

Monil’s virtual fencing uses GPS-enabled collars and mobile technology to create digital boundaries for cattle without the need for physical barriers. Farmers can adjust these fences via an app, receiving real-time data on cattle location and movement. When an animal approaches the boundary, the solar-powered collar emits mild stimulants including audio cues to encourage them to retreat back.

“This has been a great tool for maximizing grass management. It’s allowed us to unlock grazing areas we’d struggled to manage effectively before.” Wilson Marshall (Agriculture Technology Specialist)

The trial examines how effective the ‘virtual fencing’ is and whether it can optimise grazing management of a suckler herd in a hill farm setting where the environment can be challenging. The farm is comprised of around 580 acres spanning over the Sperrin Mountains at Goles and Lough Fea, where suckler cows and calves graze rough terrain for most of the year from mid-April, post-calving, until approximately mid-November. The trial project uses a group of 26 suckler cows and a breeding bull, who are fitted with Monil collars.

The collaboration with Monil, compliments the Hill Suckler Project which demonstrates how to produce a superior weanling from medium sized Blue Grey cross Galloway cows, using top 1% Aberdeen Angus genetics. In addition, the technology allows more efficient grass utilisation, prolonging the season as cattle are kept in much tighter groups and are encouraged to move into higher areas to avoid poaching and overgrazing lowland areas.

The combination of efficient grassland management and feed utilisation helps produce progeny that meet finishing requirements quicker at a lower cost, reducing age at slaughter and lowering GHG emissions. Further benefits include improved conception rates as cattle are moved across the hill in a group, helping to syncronise cycles and encourage natural behaviours.

Foyle’s Farms of Excellence is continuously conducting research and trials, providing practical and up-to-date information to producers on ways to further improve the economic and environmental sustainability of their farms. For more information on Monil Technology, visit Monil Virtual Fencing.

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