185 Beef Farms Sign Up as Halter's Satellite Fencing Delivers Early Gains
Two months after unveiling a major upgrade to its beef product, Halter says its farmers are on track for major production gains and additional grass growth.
Rob Clayton says a second production line for its eShepherd virtual fencing is now up and running at its Hamilton site, as the company strives to meet growing global demand for remote farm management technology. A third production line is also being proposed.
"The boom's already happening and we've just built another production line," Clayton told Rural News.
"We could not keep up with demand; we couldn't build them as fast as people want to buy them."
eShepherd virtual fencing puts beef farmers in control of their cattle, without lifting a post or rolling out a wire.
Using solar-powered, GPS-enabled livestock neckbands and a simple app, farmers can fence, track and move cattle with ease, saving hours of mustering and fence work every week.
As chief executive of Gallagher's global Animal Management business, Clayton is eyeing growth across key markets.
Demand for eShepherd has been strong in the US, Australia, Canada and Europe. In fact, so strong that Gallagher had to fly the neckbands to farmers in these countries instead of waiting for ships to deliver them.
Clayton says he expects the strong demand to continue as mor farmers accept that wearables are the way to go.
Over the past year, Gallagher's Animal Management business has enjoyed 47% growth and eShepherd revenue has trebled. The business has also expanded its agritech capability, made acquisitions in Europe and South Africa, and established Gallagher in Brazil.
Across Gallagher Group, the business is also on track to reach revenue of $1 billion over the coming years. Gallagher Group has two main business units - Security and Animal Management. Both are contributing around 50% of the $600m in total revenues right now.
Clayton expects total revenues to reach $700m this year and a billion dollars in the next few years.
He agrees that competition among manufacturers of wearable technology is growing. He says Gallagher is not resting on its laurels.
"We are not sitting here saying that no one else has got a good product.
"There are other good products out there as well.
"I think the job that we have, along with the rest of the industry, is to educate how and where these collars, these wearables, actually work for growers."
Clayton believes more farmers are now willing to try out wearables.
"We are starting to get enough critical mass that growers are like, you know what? It's like an auto steer on a tractor. No one had them. Now everyone's got them.
"We're seeing this hockey stick effect as the early adopters tell all the other guys, like why aren't you doing this?"
Clayton believes successful agritech starts with real problems farmers are trying to solve, including how they make better use of one of their most valuable assets - their time.
"There is a lot of cool technology out there looking for a problem to solve," he says. "The technology that gets adopted quickly is technology that genuinely makes life easier, improves efficiency, saves time or helps farmers make better decisions.
"Agriculture is a game of inches. You have to find the advantages where you can. That's what drew me to Gallagher."
