Utilizing Innovative GPS IoT Technology to investigate multi-species grazing for improved pasture management and meat quality

Summary

The beef industry represents the 3rd largest agricultural commodity in the Great Southern agricultural region of WA. Compared with most other subsets of the Australian beef industry, the South West is characterised by a large number of relatively small producers. This is evidenced by 29% of all beef cattle in the South West kept on properties with 200 or fewer head of cattle. With this backdrop, and with this region being fertile and having high-rainfall as well, there is enormous potential for livestock farmers in the region to realise much higher profits per hectare from innovative pasture and animal management practises. To this end, we have undertaken an Australia-first trial investigating the potential of multi-species grazing for this region using innovative GPS & Internet of Things (IoT) based tracking technology.

The two innovative key components of this trial are:

1. “animal tracking” technology i.e., long-range wireless GPS tracking collars and
2. management practice - “multi-species grazing.”

The aims of this work are to assess the opportunity for production benefits by co-grazing sheep and cattle. Secondarily, we aim to showcase the practical implementation of IoT technology on farm by using GPS tracking collars on cattle and sheep.

The project has successfully accomplished both those aims. We have obtained promising initial results from a small-scale co-grazing trial - one of the first ones to our knowledge on Australia soil whose results broadly validate scientific literature as well as trials in other countries, that co-grazing indeed has tremendous promise as a way to improve pasture utilization and hence yield per hectare.

We have also successfully setup an on-farm low-power wireless network - again, one of the first in this region, and demonstrated how individual animal tracking can be done using this setup in a reliable and cost-effective manner. We have successfully generated tremendous enthusiasm and interest among SCF members and the broader community in this region, to technology and innovation. We sincerely hope that this momentum continues and that our farmers are able to reap better harvests, better prices, markets and on-farm efficiencies for all the hard yards they put in every day, as a result.