Halter, the leading digital operating system for pasture-based ranches, announced the launch of direct-to-satellite connectivity for its smart cattle collars, a world-first that removes the need for cell towers or on-ranch infrastructure. Using Starlink, the new technology enables ranchers to manage cattle anywhere they can see the sky. Combined with a suite of new tools for reproduction, animal behavior, and precision pasture management, the release significantly expands what is possible for cattle ranch management.
Beef ranchers in remote and rugged regions that were limited by connectivity, can now turn to virtual fencing to run more productive and sustainable operations - at a time when they face rising fuel costs, labor shortages, and aging workforce pressures. Halter’s internal modelling estimates direct-to-satellite capability expands coverage of the US beef cattle market by 2.5x.
Until now, Halter’s solar-powered, GPS-enabled collars relied on Halter’s proprietary long-range radio towers. With direct-to-satellite, the collars can communicate via Starlink, eliminating ground infrastructure entirely. “Connectivity has been the final barrier to bringing virtual fencing across remote and expansive ranches,” said Craig Piggott, CEO and founder of Halter. “Direct-to-satellite allows ranchers to manage hundreds of thousands of acres in the most remote terrain on the planet. Combined with our new suite of product features, these ranchers can be even more productive.”
Lloyd Calvert, livestock and agriculture manager at High Lonesome Ranch in western Colorado, has been among the first to deploy the satellite-enabled system across the ranch’s 225,000 acres of complex terrain. “Halter has changed the game completely,” said Calvert. “Satellite unlocks the ability to run very remote country while still seeing what the cattle are doing, without needing someone with them all the time. We call ourselves Halter junkies now because we can check to see where the cows are anytime of day, no matter where I am. It gives me a great deal of assurance and that’s irreplaceable.”
Alongside the launch, Halter is announcing its largest-ever product upgrade for beef cattle ranchers. This update will include an all-in-one heat detection tool to identify cycling animals before and through breeding, behavioral monitoring providing near real-time insight into grazing, rumination and other indicators of cattle performance, and more advanced pasture and grazing features including satellite-based forage insight, grazing plans and templates, the ability to calculate and track animal demand and comprehensive grazing records. Halter direct-to-satellite will be available to beef operations in the United States, New Zealand, and coming soon to Australia and Canada.
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