Animal Intelligence: Gallagher’s Smart Tools for Data-Savvy Farmers
Words courtesy of Gallagher
It’s a challenging time to be a Kiwi farmer: volatile international markets, complex regulation, the labour shortage, and the list goes on. It all adds to the imperative to operate as productively as possible - and to take steps to improve efficiency on the farm whenever and wherever you can.
“New Zealand farming has always been an industry that focused on innovation, exploring new avenues of technology, and really looking at how innovation can drive profitability on- farm,” says Mark Maitland, business development manager with agriculture industry pioneer, Gallagher.
“Yes, there are always challenges on-farm, but those challenges also create opportunities for innovation and technology to really drive New Zealand farming into the future.”
Established in 1938, Gallagher - a global company headquartered in Hamilton - produces animal management solutions designed to help farmers operate more responsibly, productively and profitably. Leading Gallagher products include smart electric fencing systems, high-tech weighing and electronic identification products (EID), and more.
Mandatory EID tagging is driving the potential for better monitoring of the growth rate performance and other key data on individual animals. Gallagher’s weighing solutions - which integrate with its EID (electronic identification) products - streamline this frequently onerous weight-tracking process with a cloud-based platform.
“Traditionally, this was a very hands- on, manual process,” says Mark. “The farmer had to weigh the animals, then had to physically take that weight monitor home, plug it into the computer, and go through different steps to download the data. Only then could they try to analyse those numbers and make some management decisions based off them.