Twenty break fences a day became zero
“It worked perfectly. I checked with my farm manager and the mobs had moved onto the new breaks no issues at all.”
Nigel & Gina Gardner · South Canterbury, NZ
For South Canterbury dairy graziers Nigel and Gina Gardner, spending hours moving break fences every day is a thing of the past thanks to Gallagher’s virtual fencing solution, eShepherd.
The couple operates an intensive grazing operation across 350 hectares — up to 800 dairy heifers, 150 jersey bulls for breeding, and a small herd of 90 beef steers.
Pasture management is everything
“We have more fences than the average grazier because we run our dairy grazers in smaller mobs so we can focus on getting great growth rates for our clients.”
“I used to be a dairy farmer, so I know where heifer weights need to be and I don’t want to be sending anything back that I’m not happy with.”
Nigel was moving up to 20 break fences a day. They went looking for a better way and found eShepherd. They started in October 2023 with 150 grazing heifers.
Half a day to learn
“It was amazing to see how easily and quickly the cows adapted. The biggest job was actually unpacking all the neckbands, activating each one and getting them turned on. As far as putting them on the animals and getting the virtual fencing working — within half a day, the heifers knew what was going on.”
Pasture is the backbone
“How we manage our pasture is key. I can’t have mobs free-ranging and burning up pasture because then I end up needing a lot more supplement, which can be costly. Home-grown pasture is the most efficient feed, so we need to be smart about how we use it.”
Work-life balance
“I’m not out there winding up electric fences or moving electric fences every day. In the eShepherd app, I remove, add and create breaks several days in advance and activate them daily or as necessary at the touch of a button. It’s that easy.”
The couple put it to the test on a long weekend — Nigel programmed the breaks before they left, and rather than ask the farm manager, activated the moves himself from the holiday location.
“It worked perfectly. I checked with my farm manager and the mobs had moved onto the new breaks no issues at all.”
Grass at any hour
“Using eShepherd means I can move mobs at any time of the day or night depending on the feed that’s available. While I’m having breakfast, I use my phone to move the two mobs that have eShepherd neckbands. When I’m out moving those that are behind a traditional electric fence, I quickly check on my eShepherd mobs to make sure they have moved themselves and they’re happy. Over time as we get used to the new technology, I won’t feel the need to do that anymore.”
Gina says eShepherd is saving them time and freeing up brain space to oversee the business in a different way.
“We have been away a couple of times since introducing eShepherd and Nigel’s been able to see what’s happening on farm, even though he’s not here. It gives us real peace of mind.”
The Gardners can see the potential to share data from eShepherd with heifer owners — reassuring them about their animals’ progress while they’re off-farm for grazing.
What’s next
After five months of eShepherd, Nigel and Gina plan to expand the virtual fencing solution across their operation as investment allows.
“We’ve had so much positive feedback from our business partners, clients, and the farming community about the results we’re getting with eShepherd. There is so much potential for technology to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of our farm — we would be silly not to consider rolling it out further.”