RFID, BLE, IoT & Drones for Sheep and goat farming Industry

Sheep and goat farming, also known as sheep and goat husbandry, is an agricultural industry focused on the breeding, raising, and management of sheep and goats for various purposes. These two types of livestock have been domesticated for thousands of years and play a crucial role in providing essential resources to humans.

GAO’s RFID, BLE, IoT, and drone technologies have helped its customers in Sheep and goat farming Industry to improve their work processes, their operations and productivity by better management of their staff, materials, and operational equipment such as fencing materials, feeders, waterers, handling and transport equipment, shearing equipment, milking equipment, hoof trimmers, shelters, and housing, grooming and show equipment, record keeping supplies.

Ranked as one of the top 10 global RFID suppliers, GAO RFID Inc. is based in New York City, U.S. and Toronto, Canada. GAO offers a comprehensive selection of UHF, HF (including NFC) and LF RFID (radio frequency identification) readers and tags, BLE (Low Energy Bluetooth) gateways and beacons, and various RFID and BLE systems such as people tracking, asset tracking, access control, parking control, fleet management, WIP (work in progress), traceability. Such RFID and BLE products and systems, as well as its IoT and drone technologies, have been successfully deployed for Sheep and goat farming.

Applications & Benefits of GAO’s RFID, BLE, IoT & Drones for Sheep and goat farming

To satisfy its customers, GAO’s RFID or RFID Systems for Sheep and goat farming are offered in 2 versions. One version is that its software is running on a local server that normally is on our client’s premise, and another version runs in the cloud. The cloud server could be GAO’s cloud server, client’s own cloud server or a cloud server from one of the leading cloud server providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, IBM Cloud (formerly SoftLayer), Oracle Cloud, RedHat, Heroku, Digital Ocean, CloudFlare, Linode and Rackspace. The above illustrates GAO system for Sheep and goat farming with its software running on a local server.

The above illustrates GAO system for Sheep and goat farming with its software running in cloud.

GAO’s RFID and BLE technologies, consisting of RFID readers, RFID tags, BLE gateways, BLE beacons, software, cloud services and their systems, have the following applications in Sheep and goat farming industry:

Animal Identification: GAO’s tags are used to uniquely identify each sheep or goat within the flock. These tags contain a unique identification number linked to the animal’s records in the farm’s database.
Traceability and Records Management: With RFID, farmers can maintain detailed records of each animal’s health history, vaccinations, breeding dates, and production data. This information helps in making informed management decisions.
Automated Data Collection: GAO’s readers can be set up at various points, such as feeding stations, watering areas, and milking parlors, to automatically record data on animal movement, feeding patterns, and milk production.
Health Monitoring: Our technology can be integrated with health monitoring systems to track individual animal health and behavior, enabling early detection of illnesses or anomalies.
Breeding Management: GAO’s tags aid in tracking breeding dates and the reproductive performance of individual animals, facilitating better breeding management.
Feed Management: Our systems can be used to monitor and control feed intake for individual animals, ensuring balanced nutrition and minimizing wastage.
Weight Monitoring: GAO-enabled livestock scales can weigh animals automatically, helping farmers to track growth rates and adjust feeding regimes accordingly.
Sorting and Grouping: GAO’s readers integrated with sorting gates can automatically segregate animals based on predetermined criteria such as weight or reproductive status.
Pasture Management: By tracking the movement of animals with RFID, farmers can implement rotational grazing systems, ensuring proper pasture utilization and promoting sustainable land management.

GAO’s drone technologies find the following applications in the Sheep and goat farming industry:

Livestock Monitoring: GAO’s Drones equipped with cameras or thermal imaging sensors can be used to monitor the health and behavior of sheep and goats. They allow farmers to assess the overall condition of the flock, identify sick or injured animals, and detect signs of stress or distress.
Flock Counting and Tracking: Our Drones can efficiently count the number of animals in a large flock or herd, which is particularly useful during inventory management and when conducting regular headcounts.
Pasture and Grazing Management: Our drones can be employed to assess the condition of pastures and monitor grazing patterns. By gathering aerial data, farmers can optimize grazing rotations and ensure that the flock is utilizing the available resources effectively.
Detection of Predators: GAO’s Drones equipped with cameras and night vision capabilities can help spot and track potential predators that might threaten the safety of sheep and goats, such as wild animals or predators like wolves or coyotes.
Fencing Inspection: Our drones can be used to inspect perimeter fencing, identifying damaged or compromised areas that might require repair or reinforcement to prevent livestock from escaping and predators from entering.
Search and Rescue: In case of missing or lost animals, drones can aid in search and rescue efforts, covering large areas quickly and helping locate the missing livestock.
Water Source Identification: GAO’s drones can assist in locating water sources on extensive grazing lands, helping farmers plan the location of water troughs for better access and hydration management.
Assessing Environmental Conditions: Our drones can gather data on environmental factors like vegetation health, soil moisture, and topography, which can inform decisions related to pasture management and feed planning.
Herding Assistance: In collaboration with livestock guardian dogs or human herders, our drones can help in herding sheep and goats, directing them to desired locations more efficiently.

GAO’s IoT technologies, consisting of IoT sensors, sensors networks and systems, find the following applications in the Sheep and goat farming industry:

RFID Tags: GAO RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags are attached to individual animals for unique identification, facilitating automated data collection and animal tracking.
Temperature Sensors: Our sensors monitor ambient temperature and can be used to detect heat stress or extreme weather conditions that might affect the animals’ health.
Humidity Sensors: GAO humidity sensors measure the moisture levels in the air and help farmers ensure suitable living conditions for the sheep and goats.
GPS Trackers: GPS tracking devices are sometimes used to monitor the movement and grazing patterns of animals, enabling better pasture management.
Livestock Scales: IoT-enabled livestock scales can automatically record the weight of individual animals, providing data for growth tracking and feed management.
Activity Monitors: Our sensors can be attached to animals to monitor their activity levels, helping to identify signs of illness or abnormal behavior.
Health Monitoring Sensors: GAO IoT-based health monitoring systems can track vital signs and detect early signs of disease or health issues in the animals.
Water Quality Sensors: GAO water quality sensors assess the cleanliness and safety of drinking water sources for the livestock.
Feeders and Waterers with IoT Integration: Our smart feeders and waterers can track consumption patterns and help optimize feeding and watering schedules.
Camera Systems: GAO’s IoT-based camera systems enable farmers to remotely monitor the animals and observe their behavior and health status.

GAO Helps Customers Comply with Standards, Mandates & Regulations of Sheep and goat farming

GAO RFID Inc. has helped many companies in Sheep and goat farming to deploy RFID, BLE, IoT and drone systems and to ensure such deployments complying with the applicable industry standards, mandates and government regulations:

RFID, BLE, IoT, & Drone Standards & Mandates

ISO 11785
GATT (Generic Attribute Profile)
CoAP (Constrained Application Protocol)
ISO 21384-3:2019 – Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) – Part 3: Operational procedures
European Union (EU) Livestock Identification and Registration:
OPC UA (Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture)
Zigbee
IEEE 802.15.4
LoRaWAN (Long Range Wide Area Network)
OneM2M (One Machine-to-Machine)
Sigfox

US. Government Regulations

Animal Welfare Act (AWA)
Federal Seed Act
National Sheep Industry Improvement Center Act
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) Import Regulations
Scrapie Eradication Program
Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)
Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD)
National Scrapie Eradication Program
Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) requirements for meat products
Environmental regulations (e.g., Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act) that may impact farming practices

Canadian Government Regulations

Health of Animals Regulations
Feeds Regulations
Health of Animals Act
Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) Requirements
National Scrapie Eradication Program
Environmental regulations (e.g., Canadian Environmental Protection Act)
Animal Transportation Regulations
Food and Drugs Act (for veterinary drugs and animal health products)
Canadian Sheep Identification Program (CSIP) requirements
Canadian Livestock Transportation Regulations

GAO Software Provides Easy Integration with API

GAO’s RFID and BLE software offers a free trial for both the server-based and cloud versions, and offers an API to the important systems in Sheep and goat farming such as:

Personnel Management:

Employee Scheduling
Training and Development
Performance Evaluation
Health and Safety Compliance

Equipment Management:

Preventive Maintenance
Inventory Tracking
Equipment Utilization
Equipment Upgrades and Replacement

Access Control:

Livestock Movement Control
Restricted Areas
Employee Access

Warehouse Management:

Feed and Fodder Storage
Medication and Veterinary Supplies
Product Storage

Supply Chain Management:

Traceability and Compliance
Distribution and Logistics
Supplier Management

Other Applications:

Environmental Monitoring
Genetic Management
Automated Feeding Systems
Health Monitoring
Data Analytics and Decision Support
Financial Management

GAO has enabled its customers to make use of some of leading software and cloud services in Sheep and goat farming industry. Below are some of popular software and cloud services in Sheep and goat farming industry: ADP workforce now, BambooHR, Zoho people, Gusto, Farmbrite, Agworld, Trimble Ag Software, Granular, HID Global, Avigilon Access Control Manager, Honeywell Access Control, Tyco Security Products, Kantech, SAP Extended Warehouse Management (EWM), Oracle Warehouse Management Cloud (WMS), Manhattan Associates Warehouse Management System (WMS), JDA Warehouse Management (WMS), Blue Yonder (formerly JDA Software) WMS, SAP Supply Chain Management (SCM), Oracle Supply Chain Management (SCM) Cloud, Blue Yonder (formerly JDA Software) Supply Chain Management, Infor Supply Chain Management (SCM), Kinaxis Rapid Response, Agrivi, FArmlogs, FarmERP, ClimateFieldView, Rackspace, AWS, GCP, Heroku, Alibaba cloud.

GAO has worked with some of the leading technology companies in Sheep and goat farmingin to provide integrated its RFID, BLE, IoT and drone solutions to customers. Here are some of the technology leaders in Sheep and goat farming industry: Trimble Inc, DeLavel Inc, Allflex Livestock Intelligence, Shearwell Sata Ltd, Gallagher group Ltd, Caisley Eartag Ltd, Datamars SA, Identigen, ArgiWebb, Breedr, Tru Test group, Agri Tags, National band and tag company, Y-Tex corp., FarmERP, Agworld, Climate fieldview.

Case Studies of RFID Applications

Below are some RFID application cases in Sheep and goat farming industry.

National Scrapie Eradication Program The USA implemented RFID-based ear tags and tracking systems as part of the National Scrapie Eradication Program to control and eradicate scrapie, a fatal neurodegenerative disease affecting sheep and goats. Canadian Sheep Identification Program (CSIP): RFID technology has been used as part of the CSIP, which aims to enhance the traceability of sheep and goats in Canada for disease control and management purposes.

EID for Improved Lamb and Kid Production: Electronic identification (EID) using RFID tags has been implemented in some Canadian farms to improve lamb and kid production through better monitoring and data-driven decision-making.

Many applications of RFID by GAO can be found here:

GAO RFID Sheep and Goat Farming Asset Management System – GAO RFID

Case Studies of IoT Applications

Below are some IoT application cases in sheep and goat farming industry.

Precision Feeding Systems: IoT-enabled feeding systems that deliver customized feed rations based on individual animal needs, leading to better nutrition and reduced feed wastage. Reproductive Management: IoT-enabled monitoring of reproductive cycles in female sheep and goats to optimize breeding programs and increase reproductive efficiency. Flock Behavior Analysis: IoT devices to analyze flock behavior and social interactions for better understanding of group dynamics and stress factors.

Grazing Behavior Analysis: IoT sensors to track grazing patterns and optimize pasture management for sustainable land use and efficient forage utilization. Animal Health Tracking: IoT wearable devices to monitor vital signs and activity levels, providing early detection of health issues in sheep and goats.

Case Studies of Drone Applications

Below are some drone application cases in sheep and goat farming industry.

Pasture and Grazing Management: Drones equipped with sensors can monitor pasture conditions, assess forage availability, and evaluate grazing patterns to optimize grazing rotations and improve forage utilization.

Livestock Monitoring: Drones with thermal imaging and visual cameras can aid in monitoring the health and behavior of sheep and goats, enabling early detection of potential issues and reducing the need for manual checks.

Flock Surveillance: Drones can provide aerial surveillance of the entire flock or herd, making it easier to locate animals and identify any strays or potential predators. Water Management: Drones can monitor water sources and irrigation systems, helping to ensure adequate water supply for the flock and improving water use efficiency. Forage and Crop Assessment: Drones equipped with multispectral or hyperspectral cameras can assess the health and growth of pasture, forage, or crop fields, aiding in decision-making related to harvesting and grazing.

GAO RFID Systems & Hardware for Sheep and goat farming

GAO RFID Inc. offers the largest selection of BLE gateways, BLE beacons, RFID readers, tags, antenna, printers, and integrated RFID systems for various industries, including Sheep and goat farming.

BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy)

GAO offers advanced BLE gateways:

BLE Gateway (Receiver)

as well as versatile beacons with such important functions as temperature, humility, vibration, and panic button:

BLE Tags / Beacons

GAO’s BLE technology is suitable for many industries, including Sheep and goat farming.

UHF (Ultra High Frequency) RFID

GAO offers the largest selection of UHF RFID readers for various industries, including Sheep and goat farming:

GAO RFID offers the widest choice of UHF RFID tags, labels, badges, wristbands for various industries, including Sheep and goat farming:

and an array of antennas to address different applications:

UHF 860 – 960 MHz RFID Antennas

HF (High Frequency), NFC (Near Field Communications) and LF (Low Frequency) RFID

GAO offers the largest selection of HF, NFC, and LF RFID readers for various industries, including Sheep and goat farming:

HF, NFC and LF RFID tags, labels, badges, wristbands for various industries, including Sheep and goat farming:

and antennas:

GAO also offers RFID printers:

Find Your RFID Printer

Digital I/O adapters:

Find Your I/O Adapter

and relay controllers:

Find Your Relay Controller

For embedded applications, GAO offers UHF, HF and LF RFID reader modules:

In collaboration with its sister company GAO Tek Inc, a wide selection of high quality drones are offered:

Drones

The RFID systems by GAO are highly popular for clients in Sheep and goat farming:

Physical asset or operational equipment tracking system:

Asset Tracking Software

Assets that can be effectively tracked using GAO’s technologies include: wool shearing equipment, hoof trimmers, Lambing/Kidding Pens, Feeding Troughs, Hay Racks and Feeders, Fencing Systems, Handling Chutes and Races, Drench Guns, Pregnancy Detection Devices, Castration and Tail Docking Tools.

People or workers tracking system:

PERSONNEL TRACKING SOFTWARE

Physical asset or operational equipment tracking system:

ASSET TRACKING SOFTWARE

Personnel or people access control system:

ACCESS CONTROL SOFTWARE

Parking or vehicle control system:

PARKING CONTROL SOFTWARE

Furthermore, GAO provides the customization of RFID tags, RFID readers, BLE beacons and BLE gateways, IoT, drones, and systems and consulting services for General medical and surgical hospitals industry and for various industries in all metropolitans in the U.S. and Canada:

Services

GAO Has Served Sheep and goat farming Extensively

GAO RFID Inc. and its sister company GAO Tek Inc. together offer a wide choice of RFID, BLE, IoT, drone, testing and measurement devices, and network products.

GAO’s products and technologies have helped its customers in sheep and goat farming Industry to achieve success in Blockchain for Enhanced Traceability, Smart Agriculture: Digitizing Agricultural Practices, AgTech: Revolutionizing Agriculture with Technology, Remote Sensing for Farm Monitoring, Internet of Things (IoT) in Farm Management, Leveraging Big Data in Agriculture.

GAO RFID Inc. has served many customers in sheep and goat farming, including its various divisions such as:

Meat Production: This division focuses on raising sheep and goats for meat production. Farmers in this sub-industry rear animals for slaughter and sale of lamb, mutton, chevon (goat meat), and related meat products.
Dairy Production: This division is dedicated to raising sheep and goats for milk production. Farmers in this sub-industry focus on milking animals to produce sheep’s milk or goat’s milk for consumption or the production of dairy products like cheese, yogurt, and butter.
Fiber Production: This division focuses on raising sheep and goats for their wool and fiber. Farmers in this sub-industry breed animals that produce high-quality wool, mohair (from Angora goats), cashmere (from cashmere goats), and other fibers for textiles and clothing.

GAO’s technologies enable its customers in sheep and goat farming to effectively track their workforces such as shepherd, herder, rancher, flock master and effectively track operational assets such as corral, fencing, shears, hoof trimmers.

Here are some of the leading companies in Sheep and goat farming industry: