Fencing on the Isle of Coll is no easy task. The terrain is rocky, broken, and uneven – making it almost impossible to run traditional fences across the hills.

For Rob Wainwright, a former Scottish rugby player turned farmer, and his son Alex, this challenge has defined much of their work. But with Monil’s virtual fencing collars, things have changed.

“We came across this technology of virtual fencing and it has revolutionised the way we work,” Rob says.

Fencing where it was previously deemed impossible

Two big challenges shaped farming on Coll: much of the land was left ungrazed, and the areas that were grazed weren’t always used efficiently.

That’s different now.

“Because of the collars we can now graze two and a half thousand acres that we haven’t grazed in 15 years,” Alex explains

Rob adds that it’s not just about quantity, but also quality. “We’re using all the acres, but more importantly we’re increasing the quality of the acres that we do graze.”

Saving time and animals

Virtual fencing has given Rob and Alex something just as valuable as land: time.

“By having these collars it gives you a lot more time to do the things you want,” Alex says. “I don’t know how we would do it without them.”

The collars connect directly to the Monil app, which makes daily work easier. The app even alerts you if a cow hasn’t moved for a while – helping farmers spot problems quickly, whether an animal is stuck, injured, or separated from the herd.

The collars also improve animal welfare. Last year, a cow injured her hip during bulling and strayed from the herd. “We probably wouldn’t have found her at all without the app,” Rob recalls. “As a result we rescued her – and the calf possibly wouldn’t have made it otherwise.”

“The app is very user-friendly, even for people with thick thumbs like mine,” Rob laughs.

More than just fencing

To Rob and Alex, the biggest win is the freedom to manage grazing in ways they never could before:

• Opening up pasture and hill ground that was once impossible to use
• Improving grass efficiency on the land already grazed
• Keeping cows closer to the bull during bulling season
• Finding calves hidden away in rough terrain
• Managing weeds like bracken through targeted grazing

“There’s all these little benefits,” Rob says, “but the main thing is increasing the efficiency of your grazing by opening up areas you couldn’t use before, and utilising the areas you did use far better."

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