GrazeCheck

Beautiful grassland ecosystems flourish in harmony with large herds of animals which promote water absorption and replenish important nutrients.  However, most livestock in the western USA are released in large pastures to roam individually, and do not form compact herds. 

We have patented a system for stimulating the natural herd instinct of livestock. Each animal is outfitted with a low cost electronic ear tag which periodically exchanges signals with the other tags in the herd. Each tag calculates its own approximate distance to every other tag and determines whether it is within an appropriate proximity to the herd. If an animal begins to stray from the herd, the tag will give audio or electrical stimulation to encourage the animal to rejoin its peers.

Billions of acres of grassland could be dramatically improved by this technology.  Rancher profits, wildlife habitat and healthier watersheds are just a few of the benefits.

Drylands account for more than 40% of the world’s land area and are home to about 2 billion people.  While grazing has long been the primary use of land in the world, recent management practices have caused land degradation to reach at least 30 times the historical rate.  Instead of grazing in large herds, livestock are often released in large pastures to roam as individuals.  This tends to cause overgrazing of the most desirable vegetation and the formation of single file trails that erode into gullies.  As a result, soil erosion and desertification could displace as many as 50 million people as soon as 2030.  Even though many ranchers know the benefits of keeping their livestock together in compact herds, the drawbacks and limitations of existing technology have made it difficult or impossible to apply herd grazing management in many parts of the world. For example, electric fences are limited by brush, long distances, wildlife, and labor.   While the need for large scale herd grazing has been widely acknowledged, the tools necessary to make the change have been lacking.

We believe that our patented system (US20160295833A1) for stimulating the herd instinct of livestock can restore herd grazing to vast areas of grassland resulting in ecosystem recovery and rancher profits.  Our system uses low cost ear tags attached to each animal in the herd. Each tag uses a low power RF transceiver to periodically send brief signals to the other tags in the herd.  The tags use the signal strength of the signals to calculate their own approximate distance to every other tag.  Each tag then determines whether it is within an appropriate proximity to the rest of the herd.  If an animal begins to stray from the herd, the tag will give audio or electrical stimulation to encourage the animal to rejoin its peers. 

Unlike other attempts at using technology for grazing management, device cost and size is much less, since a GPS receiver is not needed on every animal. Instead of attempting to control behavior in unnatural ways by confining animals within an invisible and confusing virtual fence, our system simply reinforces natural instincts. Herd instincts have been stimulated in the past by predators or herdsmen and our technology does the same.

While herd instinct stimulation technology will serve everyone in the world through improved water, land, air and food, those who are impacted most directly are ranchers and livestock owners.  Livestock production is already responsible for the livelihoods of approximately 1 billion people.  In the United States alone there are 2.4 million ranchers and 24 million cattle on ranches with more than 50 animals.  Ranchers tend to be hard working and practical people who love animals and the land.  RanchCheck Inc. is working hard to engage them in such a way that they can understand and embrace practices and technology that can help them to thrive on earth’s most fragile landscapes.  The increase in forage production when herd grazing management is implemented can be up to 70%.  Not only will ranchers' profits increase, their operating costs will drop. Since herds are easier to locate than individual animals it is practical to increase pasture size and reduce fencing, labor and fuel costs. Instead of spending hours driving around to check on animal welfare, all the animals can be seen in one location. Herd grazing will also increase ranch land value, providing capital gains over the long term.

When grazing animals stay in compact herds instead of spreading out over the landscape, the benefits include greater carbon sequestration, reduced erosion, increases in wildlife habitat and improved water infiltration.  As the primary consumer of herd instinct stimulation technology, larger ranchers will enjoy dramatic profit increases as an incentive to put better grazing management into practice.  Humanity will greatly benefit from the improved use and care for the beautiful grassland ecosystems around the world.

Our solution is innovative because it approaches the problem of herd density from a completely new perspective.  Past attempts at a solution have focused on keeping animals within a geographical boundary.  Fences, electric fences and GPS collars all use this approach.  GrazeCheck enforces herd proximity and herd instinct instead of artificial boundaries.  The animals are forced to move together as a herd.  This innovation is a simpler and better way of achieving herd grazing.

GrazeCheck ear tags will be dependent upon very small and low power RF transceivers.  Recent advances in RF technology such as LORA will help get sufficient RF range for the system to operate well. 

Full Time Staff: 1

Board of Directors: 3

Other Workers: 2

Our team is very well positioned to deliver this solution.  We have a rare combination of agriculture and technology expertise.  We understand animals, land and ranchers to a degree that can only come from growing up with personal experience.  When GrazeCheck ear tags are ready for deployment, our presence in the industry makes it easy to roll out a new product for our existing customers.

We are partnering together with the Dixon Water Foundation who has provided access to their ranches for testing and evaluation.  We have already performed one live test of prototypes using their cattle and facilities.  They have also provided expertise in ranching and grazing management as well as legal support.

Because we do not have any experience with bringing a product of this scale through manufacturing to market, we are excited to apply to Solve to develop our network and learn about business and manufacturing on a larger scale.