increase font size
New Gallagher global Animal Management chief executive, Rob Clayton.
The man appointed to lead Gallagher's global Animal Management business through the next stage of growth believes the wearables boom is here.
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."
A long way from when AI meant plunging a plastic-covered arm armpit deep up a cow’s rear, John Deere has shown off its new artificial intelligence (AI) assistant, aptly called JD, which aims to simplify data processing on farms.
Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) is sometimes viewed as a dairy industry issue, but the reality is that the disease can have serious consequences for beef breeding herds as well.
In Dacre, near Invercargill in New Zealand’s South Island, Bruce Dinnington is running a dairy operation unlike any other.
OPINION: One of the privileges of judging the Ballance Farm Environment Awards for more than a decade is the opportunity to spend time on farms and orchards across New Zealand and hear from people constantly looking for ways to improve their businesses.
Are you ready for El Nino? That’s the question asked by Beef+Lamb NZ’s Ian Tarbotton who leads B+LNZ’s farm extension service.
Farmers across parts of Southland and South Otago are continuing to deal with difficult conditions after a prolonged run of wet weather, with pressure building around feed supply, stock management, pasture damage, farm infrastructure and everyday workloads.
Federated Farmers says it welcomes Labour's commitment to reviewing the Sharemilking Agreements Act, calling on other major parties to do the same.
For Canterbury dairy farmers Sian Meijer and Rick Wobben, wearable technology has become one of their most valuable on-farm tools - helping manage 1850 cows across an expansive, high-performing dairy operation while improving efficiency, mating outcomes and day-to-day decision making.
Fonterra has unveiled its annual results for the 2026 financial year, posting $27 billion in revenue and close to $20 billion returned to New Zealand farmer owners and unit holders.
The first major update to the Dairy Cattle Code of Welfare in more than a decade has been released, marking what DairyNZ describes as an important step in ensuring animal welfare standards continue to evolve alongside scientific evidence and on-farm realities.
Ravensdown shareholders have elected Jane Montgomery and Kate Acland to the Ravensdown Board for three-year terms, following a closely contested director election.
OPINION: The same mainstream media muppets that brought you Jacindamania in 2017 have been flat out pimping for the Opportunities…
OPINION: Your old mate reckons the atrocious way farmers in the UK are treated by their lords and masters in…
