Tried-and-true fencing solution gives Rotherham farmers peace of mind and saves time

A digitised electric fencing system from Gallagher is giving Rotherham dairy farmers Ben and Allie King peace of mind and saving them time when managing their herd. What’s more, the tried-and-true fencing solution is controlled with the touch of a button.

The couple are 50/50 sharemilking 650 cows on 180 hectares and have installed Gallagher’s M6000i energizer which they use alongside Gallagher’s Wi-Fi Gateway Ag Devices App to manage their electric fencing system – a proven solution that has been around for more than 8 years.

The system lets them set a minimum amp level so if the voltage on the fence drops below the effective level, they get an immediate alert sent to their phone so they can fix it.

“It’s so much more than a normal fence power unit. It has a digital screen, and you can connect it to your phone using Wi-Fi or with a data card to give you total peace of mind,” says Allie.

The M6000i unit allows Ben and Allie to see how much power is coming out of the unit and know immediately if there is an issue with their fencing that could risk stock getting out. They can also review the fences’ performance over the last 24 hours.

“It’s super handy for things like when you have cows on crops and you don’t want them breaking out at night,” says Allie.

The fencing system is also saving them time on their farm. Because it is controlled by their phones, they can turn it on and off when they’re out on farm, rather than having to run back to the shed to turn off the power.

“If it’s bucketing down and the tape gates are covered in mud or if there’s a broken wire or a fault, you can easily turn the power off from your phone right then and there,” says Allie. “It’s such a time saver.”

The couple started on the new farm on June 1, so they are still getting set up. Parts of the farm are also being upgraded, including the fencing.

Allie says they are keen to see what else they can do with the unit by adding the iSeries Fence Monitor to the system.

Using the monitor system, they can create blocks on the farm with separate zones.

“From our phones we can see if there is a problem with the system and we can see what zone it’s in, saving the hassle and time of searching entire fence lines looking for the issue,” says Allie.

She says they don’t have Wifi available on the farm, so they use an SD card to control the system.

“It’s so simple, you just put the SD card in and away you go.”

The couple first used the M6000i and Ag Devices App at their previous farm near Christchurch.

“It’s very cool to have something so digitised and automated. Gallagher’s solutions are becoming more and more progressive in that sense,” says Allie.

“When farmers’ days are already busy enough, it provides us with real peace of mind.”