In a world where technology is constantly evolving, it's no surprise that farming has become more high-tech. Grazing systems, especially.
One company that is at the forefront of this movement is Kiwitech. They have developed a technograzing system that is revolutionizing the way livestock are grazed. This system uses innovative technology and traditional grazing methods to create a more efficient and sustainable way to graze animals.
1. What is technograzing and how does it work?
Technograzing is a fencing system designed and developed by Kiwitech that uses portable electric fences to create many grazing cells within a paddock. This system allows farmers to rotate their animals through different grazing areas, which helps to prevent overgrazing and soil erosion.
The technograzing system also includes a water management system that moves stock water across the grazing cells.
The key piece to working with the technograzing system is a switched-on approach to pasture and grazing management. This approach is needed for the timely shifting of electric fences and water pipes around the paddock.
If you're wondering how the shifting of temporary fences and drinking points is efficient, then look no further than the design of the technograzing system. This design is where technograzing shines and makes the timely shifting of animals around small grazing cells possible.
The technograzing system has many benefits for farmers, livestock, and pasture, which we will touch on next.
2. What are the benefits of technograzing?
The biggest benefit to technograzing is increased pasture utilisation, which leads to increased animal productivity on the same footprint. In other words, less feed wastage and greater profit margins in your back pocket.
This system is also more efficient and sustainable than traditional grazing methods, as it reduces soil erosion through the timely movement of livestock from one grazing cell to the next. In saying that, the technograzing system is a win-win for farmers and the environment.
Add the technograzing system to our very own automatic pasture measurements with satellites, and you get a high-octane grazing system. One that isn't explosive, but is under your full control.
Technograzing is changing the way we graze livestock, and we are excited to see what the future holds for this innovative system.
3. How technograzing helps farmers be more sustainable
As suggested above, optimising pasture management means that technograzing can help to make farming more sustainable. In a world where climate change is a real and pressing issue, any steps we can take to reduce our impact on the environment are positive ones.
Not only does technograzing reduce soil erosion, but it can also help to improve water quality by reducing the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus in waterways.
This is because technograzing systems are designed to exclude animals from areas around water bodies and riparian zones, which reduces the risk of pollution. If anything, the grazing is highly timed to get the system's best performance.
Kiwitech is always working to improve the technograzing system and make it even more efficient and sustainable. They are constantly innovating and developing new technologies to help farmers create a more sustainable future for themselves, their families, and the environment.
This is a core ethos that Pasture.io shares with Kiwitech as we look to enhance the livelihoods of farmers like yourself, by deploying innovative technology on-farm.
4. How technograzing can improve livestock health
The most obvious improvement that technograzing can make to livestock health is by making sure your animals are well fed. Not overfed, as that increases wastage, and not underfed, as that erodes your farm's potential.
Well-fed livestock where nutritional requirements are being met means that technograzing can improve animal health and welfare in other ways too.
For example, if animals are well-fed, they are less likely to experience stress, which can lead to many health problems. Reducing stress also leads to calmer animals, which is great for farmer safety.
In addition, meeting nutritional requirements means that animals will cycle in a timely manner, ward off disease and infections, maintain and increase body condition, and produce healthy food.
The technograzing system is designed to help farmers meet the nutritional requirements of their livestock, which in turn leads to healthier and happier animals.
So, if you're looking for a grazing system that is efficient, sustainable, and can improve the health of your livestock, then the technograzing system from Kiwitech is definitely worth considering.
5. How do automatic pasture measurements work with Technograzing?
The automatic pasture measurements provide pasture readings that enable you to make informed grazing decisions. Armed with this information, you can tailor your technograzing system to the specific needs of your farm.
Your needs essentially come down to your stocking rate and risk profile (largely driven by your production system). For example, should you increase or reduce stocking rates? Should you buy in feed or maximise your pasture's growth potential?
This is all made possible by our machine learning models, which analyse satellite imagery and provide you with accurate pasture readings. We take the guesswork out of grazing, so you can focus on what you do best, running your farm.
We highly recommend that you not use the technograzing system without pasture measurements. In fact, we highly recommend that you not make any grazing decisions without pasture measurements.
The key here is that pasture measurements give you the data to make informed grazing decisions, which significantly increases the potential profit on your farm.
A recent study by Beukes et al. (2018) found that you could increase farm profit by as much as $385 per hectare or more by making informed grazing decisions.
This brings us to the end of the article. Until we meet again, Happy Farming!
- The Dedicated Team of Pasture.io, 2022-04-19