Every now and then something comes along that is a game changer for your business. PCC® genetics were a gamechanger for us with calving ease, moderate frame and fleshing ability. Rotational grazing has been another gamechanger. It allows us to keep more cows on a smaller acreage while building soil health naturally.

Today, we are installing some new technology that will be the next gamechanger. Evan and Madison Tate of Twin Pines Ranch care for about 100 head of commercial cows and partner with me on my older PCC® cows. Today, we ran all of them through the chute to install Halter brand collars that will allow them to better control grazing. This is the newest version of the collars. They have solar charged batteries and direct access to the internet via Starlink satellite. Once the cows are trained, we can graze anywhere on earth without a fence, cell service or a signal tower! That is a gamechanger!

The cows should be trained within about 48 hours, allowing us to do more intense grazing management with less labor. It requires a three-year contract at a cost of $95 per head, so it’s not cheap, however, the flexibility for how and where we can graze outweighs the cost. Moving cows can be done multiple times per day and is as simple as drawing a line on a map with your smart phone. Also, individual cows can be monitored remotely at any time.

When I explained this to my oldest son, he laughed and said, “There’s an old cowboy somewhere rolling over in his grave right now.” Well, I guess that’s the way new technology works. I’m just glad it’s not me!

We’ll have some updates in the future just to let you know how it’s working out. I’ll see you next time on the Herd Quitter® Minute.