Satellite technology for extensive livestock: knowing where your animals are even without coverage

In extensive livestock farming, knowing where the animals are and quickly detecting any incidents can make a big difference in the farmer’s daily life.

Animals that disperse, predator attacks, diseases, or simply long hours spent searching for the herd are common situations that are part of the daily work.

Findmy was created precisely to meet this need: a technology developed by farmers that allows locating animals in remote areas and receiving alerts when something is wrong.

See more about how Findmy works in this video:

A LIVESTOCK TRACKING SYSTEM CREATED BY FARMERS

Findmy is a technology originally developed by a family of sheep farmers in Norway. Its founders faced losses in their herd every year while the animals grazed in large mountainous areas where, moreover, mobile coverage was non-existent.

Faced with this situation, they decided to develop a system that would allow them to know where their animals were and receive alerts when something was wrong.

After implementing it on their own farm, they managed to reduce annual herd losses by more than 20%, giving rise to an intelligent location system designed for extensive livestock management.

GPS COLLARS FOR LIVESTOCK: LOCATION WITHOUT MOBILE COVERAGE

The Findmy technology is based on smart GPS location collars, specifically designed for livestock management in open fields.

Weighing just 190 grams, it is the smallest and lightest smart collar on the market, allowing it to be comfortably placed on animals such as sheep or goats without interfering with their natural behavior.

One of the most valued aspects by farmers is that the system allows locating the animals without the need to install antennas or infrastructures on the farm.

This is especially useful in mountainous areas or rural areas where mobile coverage is scarce or non-existent, a situation that remains common in many regions of Spain.

Being able to know where the animals are even in these types of environments reduces uncertainty and greatly facilitates daily work in the field.

HERD CONTROL FROM THE MOBILE: LIVESTOCK MANAGEMENT VIA APP

All the information is managed through the app from which the farmer can configure the system according to their needs. Each farm is different, so the operation can be adapted to the type of animal, the terrain, or the way of herd management.

It is possible to decide how often you want to receive the position of the animals throughout the day, as well as to subsequently consult the history of movements or the routes they have taken.

This allows for a clearer view of how the livestock moves on the terrain and a better understanding of their behavior.

SMART ALERTS TO DETECT PROBLEMS IN THE HERD

In addition to location, the system also incorporates intelligent automatic alerts that help detect possible incidents in the herd. These alerts are generated from the animal’s behavior recorded by the device’s sensors.

Thanks to this, it is possible to identify situations such as prolonged inactivity, stress, or abnormal movements, signals that in many cases may be related to predator attacks, health problems, or any incident.

In practice, this allows the farmer to react quickly to situations that might otherwise go unnoticed for hours or even days.

REAL CASE: LOCATING SHEEP IN MOUNTAIN AREAS WITHOUT COVERAGE

A real example is the case of Arkaitz, a farmer from northern Spain who manages two different types of sheep in the Basque Country.

On one hand, he has Latxa sheep, a breed closely linked to cheese production and usually kept in relatively grouped herds. However, he also raises Sasi Ardi sheep as a hobby, a native breed with a much more dispersed behavior.

These sheep graze in mountain areas where mobile coverage is also very limited, making it especially difficult to know where they were or if anything happened to them. Thanks to the use of hybrid devices that combine different communication technologies, Arkaitz can know the location of his animals even in areas without coverage. Additionally, automatic alerts allow him to quickly know if something out of the ordinary occurs.

As he explains, one of the main improvements has been the reduction in time spent searching for animals. Before, he could spend long hours traversing the mountain trying to locate them. Now he can check the application and quickly know where they are.

A LIGHTWEIGHT GPS COLLAR FOR SHEEP, GOATS, AND OTHER ANIMALS

Another important aspect is that the collar is very light and comfortable for the animal. It is noted that the sheep practically do not notice they are wearing it. In fact, during the winter, when keeping the animals on the farm, it often does not even need to be removed.

The battery life depends on the chosen configuration, as it is directly related to the number of positions sent per day. In most cases, the battery usually lasts approximately between one and two years, allowing for prolonged use without the need for constant maintenance.

Although initially the system is designed for extensive sheep, the flexibility of configuration allows it to be used also in other animals such as goats, cows, or horses, adapting the system’s behavior to each species.

TECHNOLOGY FOR FARMERS WORKING EXTENSIVELY

Findmy was born with a clear philosophy: to create useful technology for farmers. In fact, the system was developed by sheep farmers who were looking for a practical solution to manage their own herds.

Today, it allows many farmers to work with more information, more control, and above all, more peace of mind.

Because when it comes to extensive farming, knowing where the animals are and being able to react in time can make all the difference.

After all, it is technology created by farmers for farmers.

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