Questions about GrazeNet
GrazeNet is a livestock tracking system. A solar-assisted collar on each animal, your herd on a map, and a message when something needs your attention.
GrazeNet is in the prototype and validation stage, with initial livestock field trials being prepared. What follows describes how the system is designed to work. Capabilities that are planned rather than in service are named as planned.
What it is
What is GrazeNet?
- GrazeNet is a livestock monitoring system for grazing herds. Each animal wears a solar-assisted connected collar that determines its location and monitors how it is moving. The herd appears on a map in a web dashboard, and the person managing the herd gets a message when something needs attention. GrazeNet is designed for camels, cattle, sheep and goats that graze over open ground.
How is GrazeNet different from a normal GPS tracker?
- A conventional cellular livestock tracker usually works as a standalone device, with each collar depending on its own cellular connection. GrazeNet is built around the herd instead. GrazeNet collars form their own long-range herd network, sharing connectivity and adapting as animals move or individual links change. They are solar-assisted, and the herd can be monitored through the web dashboard, with WhatsApp used for convenient alerts and updates.
Does GrazeNet require a base station or other fixed infrastructure on the farm?
- No. Connectivity moves with the herd. GrazeNet collars form their own herd network and use existing cellular coverage to connect the herd to the cloud when available. There is no need for farm Wi-Fi, a privately installed base station, or powered equipment spread across the grazing area.
What happens when mobile coverage is weak or unavailable?
- GrazeNet is designed to adapt to changing cellular conditions across the herd. If coverage disappears completely, the collars continue taking and storing readings locally. Stored data is synchronised and live monitoring resumes when cellular coverage becomes available again.
What animals and situations is GrazeNet designed for?
- GrazeNet is designed for camels, cattle, sheep and goats grazing over open ground. It is particularly useful where knowing an animal’s location and movement matters more: high-value and breeding animals, pregnant animals around birth, animals used for racing or training, and herds spread across large areas where routine checks can require significant time and travel.
Connectivity and power
How does data reach the cloud?
- GrazeNet collars form their own long-range herd network. When cellular coverage is available, readings are sent from the herd network to GrazeNet over the mobile network, where they appear on the dashboard. No fixed equipment is needed across the grazing area. If the herd moves out of coverage, readings are stored and synchronised when connectivity returns.
Does every collar need cellular service?
- No. GrazeNet is designed so the herd can share cellular connectivity rather than requiring every collar to maintain its own direct cellular connection. This also makes the system less dependent on any single collar remaining reachable.
What happens when the herd spreads out or separates into groups?
- GrazeNet is designed for herds that naturally spread out or separate into groups. Collars that remain within range continue communicating through their herd network, while separated groups are designed to continue operating independently. When groups come back within range, their networks can reconnect. Any readings collected while live connectivity was unavailable are retained and synchronised when connectivity returns.
How far can the collars communicate?
- GrazeNet uses long-range, low-power radio designed for kilometre-scale communication in suitable open conditions. Practical range depends on terrain, vegetation and how the animals are spread out, with open ground generally allowing better communication than broken terrain, dense vegetation or deep valleys.
What happens when there is no sunlight?
- GrazeNet collars run from their batteries when there is no sunlight. Solar energy supplements the battery during daylight, helping extend operating time and reduce how often a collar may need to be removed for charging. The actual contribution depends on sunlight and deployment conditions.
How long does the battery last?
- Battery life depends on factors such as how often the collar reports, network conditions and available sunlight. GrazeNet collars are solar-assisted to help extend the time between charges, and reporting intervals can be adjusted to balance monitoring frequency and power use. Real-world endurance will be established through field testing.
Tracking and alerts
What does a collar measure?
- GrazeNet collars monitor location, movement, and their own power and device health. These measurements support the herd map, movement history and alerts. The collar platform is also designed to support additional sensing for specific applications.
How often is an animal’s position updated?
- The position update interval is configurable to suit the deployment. More frequent updates use more power, so an animal being monitored more closely around calving, for example, can be set to update more often than the same animal grazing on open range.
How accurate is the location?
- GrazeNet uses GNSS to determine each animal’s position. Accuracy depends on the surroundings, with open ground generally providing better results than heavy tree cover, steep terrain or other obstructed environments. Real-world positioning accuracy will be established through field testing.
What does the dashboard show?
- The dashboard shows the herd on a map together with the information reported by each collar. Historical views let you follow the movement of the herd or an individual animal, including where it has travelled, which areas it returns to and where it spends its time. This can be viewed through movement trails and heat maps.
How does GrazeNet map mobile coverage?
- As the herd moves, GrazeNet can build a picture of cellular coverage across the areas it actually uses, showing where connectivity tends to be stronger or weaker. Because the information comes from the herd’s own movements, it reflects the ground the animals actually graze rather than a generic coverage map.
How do alerts work?
- GrazeNet can send WhatsApp alerts when something needs attention, such as an animal moving unusually far from the herd, a collar going quiet, low battery, stale location data or poor connectivity. Alert thresholds can be adjusted to suit the herd, while the dashboard provides the underlying location, movement and device information.
Can GrazeNet alert me when an animal moves too far from the herd?
- Yes. GrazeNet can alert you when an animal moves beyond a separation threshold set for that herd. Because different herds naturally spread by different amounts, the threshold can be adjusted to suit the way they normally graze. The alert identifies the animal and its separation from the herd so you can decide whether it needs attention.
How can GrazeNet help identify an animal that needs attention?
- GrazeNet can highlight changes that may warrant attention, such as an animal moving less than usual, separating from the herd or remaining in one area unusually long. This helps identify which animal may need checking and where it is. GrazeNet supports that decision. It does not replace veterinary judgement.
What happens if a collar is damaged or stops working?
- GrazeNet collars report their device health alongside their readings. A collar that develops a problem can be flagged on the dashboard, while one that stops communicating can trigger an alert. GrazeNet is designed so that a single collar failure does not bring down the rest of the herd network.
Field use
How large a herd can GrazeNet support?
- GrazeNet is designed to scale from small groups to large herds. Adding animals means adding collars, while connectivity is shared across the herd rather than requiring every collar to maintain its own cellular connection. The deployment is configured around the size of the herd and the ground it grazes.
Is the collar suitable for heat, dust and rain?
- GrazeNet collars are being designed for continuous outdoor use on grazing animals, including exposure to heat, dust and rain. Environmental durability, sealing and performance across real working temperatures are part of the field-validation programme.
Which countries and mobile networks does GrazeNet support?
- GrazeNet can be configured for supported cellular bands and networks in each target market. Before deployment, local coverage and network compatibility are checked for the areas where the herd will operate. Market availability will also depend on applicable local regulatory requirements.
Planned capabilities
What is virtual fencing?
- A boundary defined in software instead of built on the ground. The animal receives a cue as it approaches the boundary, allowing grazing boundaries to be changed without moving a physical fence. This can support rotational grazing and help keep animals away from areas that need to be rested or protected.
What is dynamic herding?
- Dynamic herding takes the idea of virtual fencing further by allowing the boundary itself to move. Using gentle sensory cues, it is intended to guide the herd gradually toward areas such as fresh grazing, water or shelter, with less need for someone to physically drive the animals.
Are virtual fencing and dynamic herding available today?
- Not yet. Both are planned capabilities and are not part of the initial field trials, which are focused on validating GrazeNet’s core monitoring, connectivity and field performance. Virtual fencing and dynamic herding remain on the product roadmap.
Pilots
Can I buy GrazeNet today?
- Not yet. GrazeNet is in the prototype and field-validation stage, with initial livestock trials being prepared. Early deployments will take place with selected pilot partners before wider availability.
What does a pilot involve?
- A pilot puts GrazeNet collars on a real herd in the conditions the system is being built for. The herd can be monitored through the dashboard, with WhatsApp alerts and updates, while GrazeNet validates how the collars and network perform as animals move, spread out and regroup under real working conditions. Scope, duration and herd size are agreed case by case.
How can I take part?
- GrazeNet is looking for livestock owners, farms, researchers and organisations interested in early field pilots. If you are interested in taking part, or would like to follow the project as trials progress, get in touch at contact@grazenet.io or on WhatsApp.
Interested in a pilot?
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