The $280 Collar That Doubled a Ranch's Grazing Overnight

A rancher outside Kansas City put collars on 30 cows and went from moving them every two days to every four or five days on the same ground, at the same cow condition. That is double the carrying capacity overnight, and we spent most of this episode on how virtual fencing works and what it costs. The collar runs $280 plus a subscription. Users report getting back 8 to 10 hours a week. The GPS is accurate to about 4 or 5 feet, which is roughly one fat cow in any direction. One challenger cow averaged 800 sound warnings a day for three weeks, about one every 30 seconds she was awake, while other cows in the same group got one a week. When a cow does get out, she is back inside 80 percent of the time within 5 to 10 minutes, because her friends are still there. There are around 6,000 of these collars in North America and they only started selling here in June. Then we put the skeptic hat on. What happens to your herd if the company runs out of money. Who owns the data. Why he tells customers to never trust a virtual fence alone along a highway, because the liability is too big. And what happens to cattlemen when Silicon Valley decides cattle are a robotics problem. Also in this one: an engineer who quit a VP title in Norway, visa on Monday and a plane on Friday, a farmhouse built in 1318 and the man who will not give it up, why so many farmers keep a town job for the insurance, and what a Norwegian thinks of American water, groceries, and youth sports. Low profit is the one problem every farmer in every country has in common. The other is that not one of them thinks he owns the land. What do you want us to dig into next week? Drop it in the comments and we read them. JOIN THE BARN TALK NEWSLETTER & GET LIVE EVENT ACCESS: We're on a mission to get 10,000 subscribers, and once we do, we're hosting a live event at the barn! Sign up to get exclusive access to tickets and details.👇🏻 Help us get there: https://www.joinbarntalk.com THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY: ● Propane Farm Research Program ➱ https://propane.com/farmfunding TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Fencing cattle without building any fence 04:00 A Norwegian engineer lands in Kansas 06:24 The engineer who got pulled into sales 07:43 Back from paternity leave to 30% cuts 08:57 The gala dinner that changed everything 12:35 The news story that started a company 14:05 Seven engineers, a prototype in 2 months 18:57 Propane Farm Research Program 19:28 Their US hire quit before he ever moved 21:20 Dying broke with a bank of good stories 23:10 Visa on Monday, gone by Friday 27:32 A float trip with people who bought nothing 33:48 Kruger Dunning and the Mountain of Stupidity 43:18 So what is virtual fencing, exactly 44:18 A sound first, then a shock she remembers 51:46 One cow tested it 800 times in a day 54:42 Splitting 100 acres into 5 acre paddocks 01:00:19 Carrying capacity doubled overnight 01:04:01 Cell service, GPS, and 4 feet of drift 01:10:20 Most escapees walk back in within 10 minutes 01:14:53 $280 a collar and 10 hours a week back 01:19:22 Never trust it alone along a highway 01:22:34 Every farmer, every country, same problem 01:33:21 A farmhouse that was built in 1318 01:34:24 When Silicon Valley calls cattle robotics 01:49:16 The Skeptic Block 01:50:03 What if the company runs out of money 01:52:10 Who actually owns your cattle data 01:55:14 Only 6,000 collars, and why pick them 02:10:05 Raising robust kids on purpose 02:13:40 Rapid Fire 02:16:16 Tip of the Hat SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST ➱ https://bit.ly/3a7r3nR SUBSCRIBE TO THIS'LL DO FARM ➱ https://bit.ly/2X8g45c LISTEN ON: SPOTIFY ➱ https://open.spotify.com/show/3icVr4KWq4eUDl7Oy60YMY APPLE ➱ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/barn-talk/id1574395049 FOLLOW BEHIND THE SCENES 👇🏻 ● Barn Talk Instagram ➱ https://www.instagram.com/barntalkshow ● Barn Talk TikTok ➱ https://bit.ly/3qciekS ● Sawyer's Instagram ➱ https://bit.ly/3BtX0n4 ● Tork's Instagram ➱ https://bit.ly/3LGZJxS ● Sawyer's X ➱ https://x.com/SawyerWhisler ● Tork's X ➱ https://x.com/TorkWhisler ------------------------------- ⚠NO FINANCIAL ADVICE / DISCLAIMER⚠ Barn Talk is for educational, informational, and entertainment purposes only, with no warranty of accuracy or completeness. Nothing here is financial, investment, or trading advice, and none of it is specific to you. Do your own due diligence and consult a licensed professional before making any financial decision. Trading stocks, crypto, and NFTs carries real risk and is not suitable for everyone. You use this information at your own risk. #BarnTalk #perc #EP215 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices