Nine commercial farms across New Zealand have begun testing virtual fencing and digital pasture management under the Livestock Innovation Farming Transformation (LIFT) programme. Supported by the Ministry for Primary Industries and led by state-owned farming company Pāmu, the initiative aims to evaluate how digital technologies can improve livestock management, pasture utilisation, labour efficiency and farm profitability.
The trials span nine properties from Northland to Southland, representing a range of farming systems, including high-country stations, mixed-livestock operations, Māori-owned enterprises, corporate farm groups and family-run farms. The programme seeks to generate practical evidence on how virtual fencing performs under different commercial farming conditions.
Smart Collars Introduce Digital Grazing Management
The initial phase has involved fitting cattle with smart collars, conditioning animals to respond to the technology and training farm employees to manage digital grazing boundaries. The system allows farmers to establish and adjust grazing areas digitally, potentially reducing reliance on permanent physical fences.
Programme lead Charlie McCaig said participating farms are working with independent agricultural consultants to establish production, financial and environmental baselines before fully integrating the technology into their operations.
The trials will examine more than the ability of collars to control livestock movements. Researchers will assess how virtual subdivisions influence pasture utilisation, dry-matter harvesting, animal liveweight, milk-solids production and labour allocation.
Farm managers are also considering practical constraints, including stock-water infrastructure and grazing rotations. These factors are important when evaluating whether digital fencing can deliver measurable improvements across different farm layouts and production systems.
Potential Benefits for Dairy Farming
Virtual fencing could offer dairy farmers greater flexibility in allocating pasture and managing herd movements. Digital grazing boundaries may allow farmers to adjust paddock sizes and grazing schedules without installing new permanent fences each time requirements change.
For pasture-based dairy systems, improved grazing control could help manage feed availability and support more consistent pasture utilisation. The LIFT programme will examine whether these operational changes translate into measurable effects on milk-solids production, animal performance and labour requirements.
However, outcomes are expected to depend on individual farm conditions, including terrain, pasture growth, water access, herd behaviour and the existing infrastructure. The trials are designed to collect evidence rather than assume that virtual fencing will deliver the same benefits on every property.
Industry Partners Combine Technology and Farm Data
LIFT brings together technology providers, financial institutions, processors, agricultural consultants and farm-management software companies. Participants include Halter, which supplies solar-powered smart collars; rural bank ASB; meat processors Silver Fern Farms and ANZCO Foods; and farm-modelling platforms FARMAX and FarmIQ.
Other partners include Beef + Lamb New Zealand, AgFirst, BakerAg and telecommunications provider One New Zealand.
Data from Halter collars will be combined with information from FARMAX and FarmIQ to model precision break-feeding, automated herd movements, pasture cover and seasonal feed budgets. This approach is intended to help farmers evaluate digital grazing systems alongside broader farm-management decisions.
For dairy operations, integrating livestock movement data with pasture and production records could support more informed decisions about feed allocation, grazing rotations and resource use. The trials will help establish how useful these data-driven approaches are in commercial settings.
Measuring Costs, Returns and Environmental Outcomes
An important part of the programme is comparing the financial implications of virtual fencing with conventional infrastructure. Permanent post-and-wire fences, paddock redesigns and water-reticulation projects can require substantial upfront investment and ongoing maintenance, particularly on steep or difficult terrain.
ASB, AgFirst and BakerAg are involved in assessing payback periods, labour impacts and capital trade-offs. The programme is also collecting information on riparian exclusion and soil protection to support environmental reporting relevant to lenders and processors.
These comparisons will help farmers understand whether subscription-based digital systems offer a commercially viable alternative to traditional fencing under particular operating conditions. The overall assessment will need to account for technology costs, infrastructure requirements, productivity outcomes and the practical demands of operating the system.
Results to Guide Future Farm Adoption
Pāmu chief executive Mark Leslie said the programme would test digital tools across varied commercial settings and share both their results and limitations with the wider farming sector.
The consortium plans to organise regional field days and publish annual reports covering financial and biological outcomes. The findings are expected to provide farmers with evidence on the operational performance and commercial viability of virtual fencing.
For New Zealand’s dairy industry, LIFT represents an opportunity to assess whether precision grazing technology can improve pasture management while helping control infrastructure and labour costs. The trials’ results should offer a clearer picture of where virtual fencing works best and what farms need to consider before adopting it more widely.
