Spotlight on new technology for monitoring livestock

A trans-Tasman symposium at the University of New England last Thursday reviewed the current applications and future potential of new communications and remote sensing technology in helping graziers manage their livestock.

Dr Mark Trotter, the organiser of the symposium – the 1st Australian and New Zealand Spatially Enabled Livestock Management Symposium – used a hypothetical scenario to give an idea of that potential. “A grazier is alerted by SMS on his mobile phone,” Dr Trotter began. “One of his cows is roaming on a neighbouring property. A second SMS message informs him that another of his cows is down and having difficulty calving – time to call the vet. At breakfast the next day he uses his laptop computer to check on the grazing pressure in his top paddock. This herd doesn’t seem to be using much of the good feed in the north-west corner, so his first job of the day is to drop out some salt licks to attract them to the under-grazed area.”

“Does it all sound futuristic?” he asked. “This technology exists.”

Speakers at the symposium, sponsored by the CRC for Spatial Information and Meat & Livestock Australia, outlined the state of the art in the application of a range of remote sensing technologies (GPS, sensor networks, virtual fencing and other autonomous monitoring systems) in livestock management. They reported on research in progress, identified opportunities for future research, and opened communication between researchers, technology developers, funding bodies and producers.