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General
No, the app works over the LTE-M mobile network, allowing you to monitor and control the system from anywhere in the world with network coverage.
Yes, you can recognize each cow individually through the app. LED lights on the collars also make it easy to locate specific cows, for example, in a barn setting.
Virtual herding enables farmers to remotely guide and move cows around their farm. Cows wear collars that receive sound and vibration cues to direct them to specific areas, such as fresh grazing zones or milking stations. The vibration is gentle and similar to the sensation of a mobile phone vibrating, making it non-stressful for the animals. This is how Collie saves time and labor while ensuring efficient, low-stress herd management via a mobile app
Virtual fencing allows cows to graze without the need for physical electric wires. Using GPS, a compass, and sound cues via a collar, cows learn where the virtual boundary is and stay within the designated zone. Instead of seeing a physical fence, cows hear auditory cues to identify the boundary. Studies show no difference in stress levels or behavior between traditional electric fencing and virtual fencing—the only change is the type of cue: visual (seeing a fence) versus auditory (hearing the fence).
At present, Collie is exclusively available for dairy cows in the Netherlands and Belgium. To receive updates on availability in your country or for your type of farming, please sign up here.
No, a physical outer fence is still required for safety reasons. If an animal moves into a neighboring field, it’s not a major issue, but it becomes a serious concern if the animal strays onto a public road. A physical fence acts as a backup to ensure public and animal safety.
Grazing cows traditionally requires significant time and effort, often taking up to three hours a day to move herds and adjust fences. As a result, many farmers keep their cows indoors or adopt inefficient grazing practices. Virtual fencing and herding simplify the grazing process by allowing you to manage grazing zones and herd movement directly from your mobile phone. This saves time, reduces labor costs, and improves efficiency while enhancing animal welfare, boosting biodiversity, and lowering emissions.
Training
Newcomers learn from the herd. Cows are social animals and quickly pick up the system by observing others.
The recommended age is 2 years. Heifers can learn earlier, but collars are usually introduced after they have calved and joined the dairy herd.
No, calves typically stay close to their mothers and do not need collars.
Initial training of virtual fencing and virtual herding takes 1-2 weeks.
Virtual Fencing: Training begins by drawing a virtual fence in the app, right in front of a physical electric fence. The physical electric fence is then moved further away on a daily basis to teach cows through trial-and-error and over time that hearing a sound means they are approaching the boundary. Over time, cows learn to associate the sound with the boundary, gradually replacing visual cue.
Virtual Herding: Training involves pairing the vibration signal with traditional herding. As the cows learn that the vibration means “move forward,” physical herding is gradually reduced until it is no longer needed.
Functioning
Yes, there are several scenarios:
- Manufacturing defects in the collar.
- Software bugs that can affect performance.
- Moisture ingress causing temporary electronic failure.
In most cases, you'll receive a notification via the app, and you should have spare collars available to replace the non-functioning one.
Such failures are rare and typically short-lived. As network technologies improve, both the frequency and duration of these outages are expected to decrease. During an outage, the collars stop functioning, allowing cows to cross virtual fences. This might lead them into undesirable parts of the field, but they rarely leave the field entirely, as the herd's environment appears unchanged to them.
Yes, the calves don’t require collars themselves, as they naturally remain near the cows.
Yes, the absence of sound signals guides cows to discover the new boundary, encouraging exploration and adaptation.
Cows naturally detect the absence of sound signals and explore the new boundary on their own.
Currently, cows that already wear a data or robot collar will wear two collars since Collie focuses on virtual fencing and herding. Future updates will integrate additional functionalities, aiming to eliminate the need for a second data collar.
Currently, cows that already wear a data or robot collar, will wear two collars as Collie focuses on virtual fencing and herding. Future updates will integrate additional functionalities to replace the need for a second data collar.
Virtual herding replaces visual cues (seeing a farmer) with physical vibration signals. When a farmer wants to move the herd, a vibration in the cow’s collar signals it to move forward. If a cow goes in the wrong direction, the system uses an audible signal, similar to virtual fencing. Over time, cows fully respond to the vibration, eliminating the need for physical herding.
When a cow approaches the virtual fence:
- The collar emits a sound, increasing in volume as the cow gets closer to the boundary.
- If the cow continues past the boundary, a mild electric pulse follows.
- Once the cow turns back into the designated area, the sound softens until it stops. This system ensures cows can avoid the pulse entirely by responding to the sound cue.
