Nofence, the world’s first commercial virtual fencing system, revolutionizes agriculture and livestock management, and enhances animal welfare through innovation.
Every day, farmers dedicate countless hours to construct, repair and maintain fences to manage livestock, a physically demanding task that can create stress for both farmers and animals. .
Today, groundbreaking innovations are turning livestock management into its centre with animal welfare. Nofence’s virtual fencing technology, developed by farmers for farmers, streamlines operations and increases productivity by providing innovative, animal-friendly solutions. By eliminating the need for physical barriers, this cutting-edge system reduces the risk of injury, minimizes handling-related stress, allows livestock to graze more freely, and better Promotes health and well-being.
Advanced technology for smarter agriculture
Nofence’s virtual fencing system revolves around two key components: solar powered collars and user-friendly apps. The collar worn by livestock uses GPS to establish and implement virtual boundaries defined by the farmer. These boundaries can be easily created and adjusted via the Nofence app, providing extraordinary flexibility. Whether it provides access to new pastures or exclude sensitive areas, the technology allows farmers to adapt their grazing zones with just a few taps.
The app’s intuitive interface allows farmers to track livestock movements in real time, receive notifications when boundaries are compromised, and access heat maps revealing animal grazing activities within defined pastures You can even do it. Malin Kildal, software developer at Nofence, helped me create a user-friendly interface. Kildal said: You see their hearts [the farmers] Just knowing where the animals are is safe. ”
Animal welfare at the heart of innovation
Animal welfare is at the heart of the Norfence business. As an animal approaches a defined boundary, the system issues a series of audio cues that increase the pitch as the pitch approaches. When the animal continues forward, it receives a mild electrical pulse. This is half the strength of what was released from traditional electric fences. The system relies on accurate satellite positioning to ensure that all animals receive audio cues and electrical pulses at the same point on the virtual boundary.
To help animals become accustomed to new environments, they are first trained to wear collars in controlled training meadows. This area is surrounded by three side physical fences, with the fourth side marked with a virtual boundary, ensuring that the first interaction between the animal and the system is slow.
Depending on a variety of factors such as age and breed, during training that takes about 5-10 days, the pitch of the acoustic signal increases and changes direction as the animal approaches the boundary. In this process, each animal interacts with the virtual boundary 20 times, receiving acoustic warnings and responds aggressively, such as not retreating or moving forward. This strengthens natural grazing habits, minimizing stress by learning that animals associate sounds with the need to redirect sounds, and ensures that collar integration supports the animal’s well-being.
Most animals quickly adapt to the system and rarely receive electrical pulses after the initial training phase. The acoustic warning and electrical pulse ratio is 96%. Additionally, Nofence provides comprehensive support to ensure that your system works effectively, providing onboarding videos and manuals, aggressive database insights, and assistance. This approach ensures always high standards of animal welfare, supported by global monitoring of Nofence’s color performance to ensure optimal functionality.
The natural behavior of herd synchronization further strengthens this learning process. Livestock is very social. When a small number of individuals learn to respond correctly, their behavior affects the entire group. Studies have shown that when most animals respond in the same way as audio cues, they not only show that the system is functioning, but also indicate that the environment is stable and stress-free.
Nofence is collaborating with European and North American research institutes that have collected data showing that a predictable and controllable environment minimizes stress responses, ensuring that virtual fencing does not undermine animal welfare .
John Smout, Nofence’s Market Development Director, explained: This not only simplifies livestock management, but also equips farmers with valuable data on grazing patterns and animal movements, making informed decisions that support livestock health and well-being. ”
Safety is enhanced through live surveillance. If the animal remains stationary for more than four hours, the app will immediately send a notification to the farmer and alert you of any potential risks. Similarly, if an animal crosses a boundary, its exact location is relayed in real time, allowing farmers to intervene quickly, ensuring the health and safety of the animal. This not only prevents long-term pain, but also minimizes the risk of common injuries with physical fences such as tangles and scuffs. Additionally, virtual fencing allows animals to escape predators freely, trapped in physical barriers, preventing serious injuries and death.
Welsh farmer Emile Owen has experience in managing a 7,000-acre organic farm with sturdy, distant landscapes, allowing him to accurately control over 500 cattle. Owen said: Despite the assistance of 20 local farmers and multiple drones, they were unable to rescue or find them. With the help of our collars, these incidents are avoided and give plenty of time for both farmers and the community. ”
Revolutionizes natural grazing practices
At the heart of its Nofence is more than just livestock management. It is reconnecting the land and animals that reflect natural behavior. While traditional fencing limits movement and disrupts instinctive grazing patterns, set-boxing methods can lead to overgrazing, soil degradation, and increased costs. Virtual fencing removes these barriers and allows livestock to graze in a way that is consistent with natural behavior, while ensuring that the land is regenerated and biodiversity flourishes.
By enabling accurate, real-time adjustments to grazing boundaries, Nofence supports managed rotational grazing practices. This is an approach that mimics the way animals move naturally in the wild. Without the physical constraints of traditional fencing, animals are safer as they significantly reduce the risk of entanglement and damage. Meanwhile, farmers are relieved to know that their livestock are grazing freely in a controlled, sustainable way.
In conservation areas such as nature reserves and restoration projects where physical fencing is unrealistic, Nofence opens new possibilities for regenerative grazing. Livestock can be used to restore unused land, improve biodiversity and increase soil health while maintaining the integrity of their natural habitat. By working with nature rather than oppose it, Nofence helps livestock agriculture shape a sustainable, animal-friendly future.
Real-world impact
For farmers who have adopted Nofence’s virtual fencing technology, the benefits are clear. James Waite, a livestock farmer in the Salisbury Plain in southern England, has been using the system for five years. He said: “It’s very easy. It gives you time to concentrate on family life, improve animal welfare and plan herd management. Instead of constantly setting up fence posts and countering the clocks. , you can devote your time to more productive tasks.”
Additionally, Waight’s veterinarians observed significant improvements in physical condition scores (BCS) of substantially fenced cattle compared to pasture cattle with physical fences, and to animal welfare. It further supports positive impact.
Further north, Donald McSween appeared on Ness on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland, and witnessed first-hand the transformational effects of Norfence. He said: “Nofence was a game changer. There’s no stress anymore. I always know where my cows are.” Nofence said he and other farmers like him were in his flock. and allowed to reduce costs associated with feed and labor.
The McSween and Waight experience shows how virtual fencing not only streamlines livestock management, but also promotes healthier animals, revitalized pastures, and strengthens biodiversity, creating benefits across the farm. Examples are shown.
The future of livestock management
Nofence’s virtual fencing technology is reshaping modern agriculture by integrating commitment to animal welfare with innovative management. By teaching livestock to navigate invisible boundaries through gentle conditioning and real-time monitoring, the system minimizes stress, reduces injuries, and offers real benefits to livestock and wildlife.
At the same time, this technique prioritizes animal welfare by enabling more natural and adaptive grazing. Fast and simple pasture adjustments not only lead to more efficient operations and significant savings, but also increase biodiversity and support healthier animals and thriving ecosystems.
Nofence represents an approachable solution that bridges the gap between technological innovation and sustainable agricultural practices. Not only is agriculture more productive, it is more caring, environmentally conscious, and addressing the challenges of growing the world population, agriculture is more productive, it is more caring and more caring Animal welfare will be prioritized along with future efficiency with good equipment.
About nofence
Founded in 2011 by goat farmer Oscarhofde in Norway, Norfence is the world’s first commercial virtual fencing system for livestock and serves as a sustainable alternative to traditional fencing. Animal grazing areas are managed using GPS colors that communicate with the app using a mobile network. An escalating acoustic warning is played when the animal crosses the virtual boundary. Ignoring the sound gives you a light electric pulse. Animals learn this quickly during a 5-10-day training period. The collar can be purchased online at nofence.no/uk.
The company’s virtual fence has grown in popularity since pilot customers first began using it in Norway in 2019, with the company recently selling 150,000 collars across Europe. This is a powerful testament to the success of new technologies. Nofence has more than 70 employees worldwide and is distributed between Norway, the UK, Ireland, Spain, and the US.
This article will also be featured in the 21st edition of Quarterly Publication.
Source link
