With a click of a button graziers will know exactly how far their cattle have walked on the Travelling Stock Reserves (TSR).
For the first time, radio collars will be fitted to cattle on the Riverina’s TSR network, which covers 87,000 hectares of the 500,000 hectares of TSRs statewide, to track, monitor and manage livestock.
Riverina Local Land Services (LLS) staff will scan all cattle and fit collars to a percentage of each mob (around two to three per cent of the cattle) as part of its pilot program.
The data from the collars, which will be available to stock owners and the Rural Crime Prevention Team (RCPT), links directly to a website with the collar’s battery life lasting up to two years.
Primary Industries Minister Niall Blair said TSRs were a valuable resource for producers and the use of the collars would improve compliance, efficiency and safety.
“This is a level of traceability that has not been seen on the TSR network before, we will be able to see exactly how far they’ve walked and their current location at the click of a button,” Mr Blair said.
Mr Blair said this system would be shared with landholders so that if a drover was looking after their stock they will be able to trace their journey from start to finish and monitor this remotely.
“This not only cuts out a lot of paperwork, but a lot of driving and time, be it stock owners or TSR rangers, as this is a much more efficient way to check stock locations,” he said.
“This level of modernisation is exciting and there will be the opportunity to roll it out in other areas once the concept is fine-tuned.”
In the event of an emergency such as a bushfires, floods or a biosecurity outbreak, Mr Blair said the accurate recordings would be priceless.
“It will be a matter of logging in and we will be able to locate mobs within minutes,” he said.
While this project is a pilot, the outcomes will be shared with other Local Land Services regions.
More than $1 million has been invested by the NSW Government in the last year towards upgrading the TSR network including extensive water infrastructure works, the installation of solar pumps and bores and the use of telemetry systems to remotely monitor water availability
Riverina LLS land services manager Andrew Lieschke said it had invested a total of $80,000 for the project in the infrastructure including the collars, portable yards and scanning equipment.
Riverina LLS general manager Rob Kelly added: “We're working closely with our landholders every day, and we know it's been a rough year, with a hot summer and storm season upon us.”
“This is a chance for us to use technology to give extra peace of mind to livestock producers who rely on the TSR network to move and feed their stock,” Mr Kelly said.
Journalist based on the Mid North Coast for The Land.
Journalist based on the Mid North Coast for The Land.
