Initial Scepticism
My biggest question straight away was: does it actually work? I was a bit sceptical. Wouldn't the cows get stressed out? But the cows figure it out really well. That’s great. I don't see any stress in the herd. To my mind, they don't get too many shocks. They just get a nice little beep when they seek out the boundary.
More efficient grazing
The main reason I invested in Collie was for better, more efficient grazing. For me, it’s primarily about getting the cows to graze the paddock out cleaner. They love to reject stemmy grasses like Yorkshire fog. By rotating them through the paddocks quicker, you catch that grass at an earlier stage, and they’ll actually eat it rather than just grazing around it. After they come off, I run a grass harrow over the field to break up the dung pats and aerate the soil. If we get a decent drop of rain straight after, it’s the perfect combo. You can’t avoid it forever, but managing it this way definitely delays the need to go in and top the pasture.
Reluctant heifers
We basically run an open-door policy. The cows can go in and out all day long. The biggest difference I see is with the heifers; they go out much better now. That used to be a real issue for us. Those heifers just wouldn't go out. You'd chase them out, run after them, and they'd bolt straight back indoors. Now, the heifers graze much better. I don't have a single issue with heifers ignoring the virtual boundary.
Ditch banks
I fence off all my ditches. They have to stay two metres away from the ditch. Purely because we're on peat soils here, and those ditch banks are so weak. We used to have issues with cows ending up in the ditch before we had Collie. Now that they have to stay two metres back from the edge, I don't have that problem anymore. I don't have to worry about them ending up in the water. And just knowing exactly where they are gives you absolute peace of mind.
Constant oversight
It’s also just a handy piece of kit as a GPS. I know exactly where my cow is at any given moment. So if I leave a cow behind in the field, I know straight away where she is. Then I can just go and fetch her.
Hassle-free & putting the farmer first
I'm not necessarily a big machinery man, I'm more of a tinkerer. I like new tech. Collie is one of those companies you don't see much of anymore, in the sense that they actually listen to my feedback. I don't worry about those collars at all. If one breaks, I just get a new one. So I know exactly what it’s going to cost me at the end of the year, with no nasty surprises. As a farmer, you still come first with them. That feeling of being put first as a farmer is obviously really nice. You're not just a number. I really appreciate that.
