Virtual Fencing Technology Officially "A Go" in South Australia - Learn More About It from the State's First Approved Operator
- Jess Dempster
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
New Zealand agritech company Halter has become the first virtual fencing provider approved to operate in South Australia, with the company saying the decision will give beef and dairy producers access to a new way of managing livestock and grazing.
The approval comes half a year after the technology was legalised by the South Australian government, following amendments to the state's animal welfare regulations - which allowed manufacturers to apply for approval of their technology from early 2026.
Speaking with FlowFM's Jessica Dempster on The Country Viewpoint, Halter's Australian Strategic Relations Lead, David Nation, said South Australia represented an important market for the business, given the state's significant beef and dairy industries.
"It means so much for us," he said.
"We're looking forward to working with cattle farmers and bringing the opportunity that virtual fencing offers to South Australia."
Founded in New Zealand a decade ago, David said Halter spent five years developing its virtual fencing technology before launching commercially. The company now operates in New Zealand, Australia, the United States and Canada, with more than one million collars in use worldwide.
Unlike conventional fencing, Halter's system uses GPS-enabled collars fitted to cattle, allowing farmers to create and adjust virtual paddocks through a smartphone app. As cattle approach a virtual boundary, the collar emits an audio cue, prompting the animal to turn away before any further stimulus is applied.
David said the technology gave producers greater flexibility to manage rotational grazing, move livestock between paddocks and monitor both pasture availability and animal locations in real time.
"Farmers can see where every cow is on their phone, organise grazing rotations and match stock numbers to available feed," he said.
The SA rollout comes after a lengthy period of trials that showed the technology can support more efficient animal and pasture management. Strict conditions have been put in place to ensure animal welfare, including minimum age limits for animals wearing the collars and training requirements for both livestock and users.
The minimum ages in SA will be eight months old for beef cattle and 12 months old for dairy.
David said Halter's system had been designed to prioritise animal welfare, with cattle first receiving an audio cue as they approach a virtual boundary, followed by a low-level electrical pulse if the animal repeatedly ignores that signal.
When farmers want to move their stock to another paddock, the cattle receive a vibration cue to signal the move, with the low-level electrical pulse only used if the animal does not respond to the initial cue.
David said consistency was key to helping cattle learn what each cue means, with animals trained to respond to the different signals delivered by the system.
"It's the consistency of the way the audio cue works and the consistency of the way it escalates to an electrical pulse that means the cows learn the cues," he said.
He said the electrical stimulus delivered by the system was significantly lower than that delivered by a conventional electric fence, with the overall system designed to ensure cattle respond primarily to audio and vibration cues.
Following the historic approval, Halter has already begun deploying collars on South Australian farms, with cattle currently undergoing training to become use to the system.
"There's been so much interest from farmers, we had customers ready to go," Daid said. "So when the government gave us permission to put collars on, we had cows wearing collars and being trained to learn how the system works right away."
He said the company was now focused on working with beef and dairy producers across the state as more farms move to adopt the technology.
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