Unlocking Grazing Potential: How Foyle Farms and Monil Are Tackling Hill Grazing in Northern Ireland
Explore how Foyle Farms uses virtual fencing for efficient hill grazing. Learn how it works and sign up for an intro today!
In the challenging, uneven terrain of Northern Ireland, traditional cattle breeds like Galloway and Angus crosses have long roamed the hills. However, managing grazing in such rugged conditions has always been tough. This season, Foyle Farms of Excellence partnered with Monil in a joint pilot project to explore how virtual fencing can make hill grazing more efficient and flexible.
Wilson, Foyle Farms’ project manager for this initiative, explains how the innovative technology works.
“We equipped the herd with Monil’s collars and set up virtual boundaries through the app. You simply draw the fence on the map and assign the cows to it. When they’ve finished grazing one area, you can adjust the boundaries without ever needing to put up or take down a physical fence. The key is training the cows properly to respond to sound signals before fully relying on the virtual fence.”
Hill Grazing More Even with Virtual Fencing
For Foyle Farms, the most significant benefit has been flexibility. In the steep hills, the cows have traditionally grazed on the easy-to-reach grass at the bottom. Their consistent grazing has led to younger, leafier, and sweeter forage in the lower areas and left the tougher, higher ground untouched. With Monil’s virtual fencing, Wilson can move the herd up and down the hill, ensuring they graze every section evenly.
“The app is great—it’s intuitive, and adjusting the virtual fence is as simple as redrawing a line. I also really like the collar design; it sits comfortably on the cows and it’s easy to adjust when needed,” says Wilson.
“This has been a great tool for maximizing grass management. It’s allowed us to unlock grazing areas we’d struggled to manage effectively before.”
Through this partnership with Monil, Foyle Farms showcases how virtual fencing technology can revolutionize grazing on tough terrain, helping farms like theirs get more out of their pastures with minimal effort. This project has opened new possibilities for grazing management in challenging landscapes across Northern Ireland.
Want to explore virtual fencing solutions? Get an introduction and see how it’s used in practice.
