Grabbing Innovation by the Horns

eShepherd is a virtual herding solution developed by Cobalt for agri-tech innovator Agersens. The integrated system allows farmers to remotely manage and monitor their livestock from any smart device, no matter where they are – safely, reliably, and humanely.
The heart of the system is a wireless IOT and GPS collar device fitted to cattle or dairy cows. Through a computer or mobile app, farmers can set up “virtual fences” to define grazing areas for their livestock.

This is a significant game-changer, as it enables more efficient pasture use as well as environmental benefits, such as allowing wildlife to move about unrestricted; and being a flood and fireproof method for preventing cattle from polluting waterways.

eShepherd is the result of original CSIRO research which demonstrated that cattle can quickly learn to stay within a virtual boundary using a combination of non-aversive audio signals and aversive electrical pulse. The device triggers an audio cue first when the cow approaches the farmer-set boundary, before emitting a pulse that causes discomfort rather than harm. Animals quickly learn to stop or turn back on hearing the audio cue and avoid the electrical pulse.