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.

“With Gallagher’s weighing and ID solutions, the farm owner doesn't even have to be on the farm. The staff can weigh the animals, then, with the literal press of a button, send all that data to the cloud. The farm manager or overseer can access that data immediately, from anywhere in the world.

“That removes those pain points around data sharing and data integration, allowing farmers to make much more informed management decisions in real-time.” Similarly, Gallagher’s i-Series Energizer Intelligent fence solution provides real-time performance data for those wanting to better manage and monitor their electric fence system.

“Really understanding your fence performance can be critical,” says Mark. “With the Gallagher solution, a farmer can monitor the entire fence system 24/7, knowing when there is a critical fault on the fence, and being able to identify where that fault is.”

Users of the i-Series can segment their fence lines into up to six different zones, helping to pinpoint where problems exist and making it easier to manage repairs - a process which could otherwise take days or weeks. “It’s easy to find where the fault is, and when you're out there fixing the issue, you can open up the app and turn the fence off right there on your mobile phone.”

“It's a really powerful tool and the beauty of it is that we've built all of that into an easy-to-use phone application,” says Mark. “You can focus on the task at hand knowing you’ll be alerted if a problem arises.” “There’s just no replacement for having real-time accurate data right there in your back pocket.”