Southland FarmWise consultant Leo Pekar says the cow collars many dairy farmers already pay for could read grazing behaviour in real time, but the technology is barely tapped.

“We’re paying a subscription for a device that is there 12 months of the year, and we only use it properly for a limited amount of time,” says Pekar, a Kellogg Rural Leadership programme graduate.

His Kellogg research tested whether wearables could track bite rate to estimate pasture residuals. Rumen fill worked against it and the link hit a dead end, but the raw data showed collars can detect grazing strategy through head angle, pull effort and tongue sway.

Pekar is heading north to trial 200 devices to confirm whether the behaviours can sharpen pasture prediction models.

“This has been the biggest rabbit hole of my career.”

Read the full Kellogg Report here

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