In 2016 Halter was founded, an Agri-Tech company that created electronic collars for cows that use sound and vibration to guide and contain individual cows without the need for fences. Seven years in and more and more dairy farms are using them. The Halter company has just raised a whopping $85 million in capital from an impressive list of investors around the globe. Halter says it is focusing on growing its core business, research and development. Halter also claims that despite a slowdown in capital markets, investors were attracted to Halter's ground-breaking technology that enables more efficient farming.
Michelle and Willie Coates, dairy farmers in the Haupiri Valley on the Westcoast, implemented the Halter cow collar technology to their 730 cows in October 2022. “The reasons we implemented halter was a combination of available technology, staff well-being, productivity and mental health,” explains Michelle “The system means a later start and earlier finish which prevents human burnout.”
The system enables farmers to remotely shift virtually fencing. Halter says it’s a world-first system and has been designed to support farmers regarding staff shortages and labour challenges while lifting milking production and lowering inputs.
The Coates’s cows make two herds and prior to the Halter system it was taking on average 2 hours a day, 1 hour per herd, to bring the cows in for milking. “Now staff don’t have to get up so early, the cows are at the shed waiting for them.” Adds Michelle
“Our farm is 7km long, it’s a long narrow farm and previously someone had to put up at least six break fences a day, so by having no internal fences we are saving a lot of time and energy,” Michelle says “We haven’t let any staff go since implementing it, instead we are utilizing staff in other areas like weed control, maintenance and grazing blocks.”
The system also monitors the health, activity and behaviour of the cows 24/7. “We had one cow that was stuck in an old drain. The system sent us a health alert for her indicating that she hadn’t moved for a while, so we headed out,” Explains Michelle “And here she was stuck. Luckily, she wasn’t stressed just sitting there chewing but she needed to get moving.”
The collars are solar powered, and Michelle and Willie’s collars operate off Starlink satellite which also enables emergency reception to the farm, which is hugely beneficial as they can only get coverage at the house and dairy shed. The collars are leased under a per-cow subscription model based on farmers' required features and Halter retains ownership of the collars therefore it’s their responsibility for any maintenance. Over the last seven years, the Halter team has grown to over 180 engineers, data scientists, farmers, designers and businesspeople.
“The tech team have been amazing and have also helped us on public holidays and after hours,” Michelle says, “It is a major capital outlay but for us that was outweighed by the benefits, it is an amazing system that has changed how we farm for the better.”
