Australian virtual fencing tech startup Agersens announced that the company has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Ohio State University that will create an opportunity for the two organizations to conduct trials to determine the efficacy and economics of Agersens’ tech under U.S. conditions.
Headquartered in Melbourne and founded by Ian Reilly, Agersens is the sole global license holder for the eShepherd, a smart collar platform for livestock that enables cattle ranchers and producers to create virtual fencing systems through technology that was patented by Australia’s CSIRO.
In an interview with GAI News this February, Sally Haynes, chief scientist of animal behavior and welfare at the company, explained, “The animals wear a neckband that includes a device that is solar-powered and contains an algorithm that trains the animal as to where the fence is. It’s an algorithm that is very clearly based on animal behavior and teaches the animal to respond to the virtual, GPS-enabled fence through an audio sound. The farmer actually draws the virtual fence on their computer with their mouse, and GPS satellite imagery activates the fence.”
“This information goes to the cloud which goes to the base station, and the message is sent to each neckband. Each neckband is autonomous – each individual neckband trains each individual animal and records information and behavior about what each animal is doing. And being solar-powered, there are no battery changes needed and the neckband can go a week without sun, and even then only requires a small amount of sun.”
Working with the team from Ohio State will give Agersens access to experts with the knowledge needed about local cattle and dairy markets in order to determine how virtual fencing technology can be applied by Ohio’s farmers to gain the greatest efficiency and highest returns from their land and livestock.
“The training algorithm is a smart device, not a blunt instrument, as it’s really important that we don’t invoke a fear response in the animals,” Haynes told GAI News. “The animals always get an audio cue as they approach the fence before they would get a pulse so they have an opportunity to turn away. We’ve found that within two to five experiences, 80 percent of the cattle pair the audio with the pulse and realize they have to turn around when they get the audio.”
“The virtual fence is an exciting technology, which we hope to utilise in numerous research projects to understand its potential as a livestock management tool,” said Dr. John Foltz, Chair of the Department of Animal Sciences at Ohio State.“It appears to have some very unique capabilities and also generates large amounts of precision livestock data, which will be valuable to our research scientists.”
“Farmers in Ohio understand that improved grazing control creates more productive, profitable properties and are eager to adopt technologies that enable controlled grazing without the associated time constraints and labour costs,” said Reilly.
This MOU with Ohio State follows others forged by Agersens with the University of Idaho, and Kansas State University, as well as an extended collaboration agreement with the CSIRO finalized last November.
Having already raised $10 million to date, the company has set a target for global distribution by the middle of this year through its distribution partner New Zealand-based Gallagher, and is currently raising further funding.
“Our next challenge will be managing the demand as it’s more of a market pull, than a technology push,” said Haynes. “This solution addresses such a broad range of problems that people have been having, and with the stronger push from consumers to know where their food comes from, as well as to know that the entire herd has been taken care of, we are seeing a lot of global interest.”
-Lynda Kiernan
The post Aussie Virtual Fence Startup Agersens Partners With Ohio State University for U.S. Trials appeared first on Global AgInvesting.