Track livestock from a smartphone with Findmy

Thousands of animals go missing each year while grazing, and farmers spend hundreds of hours trying to locate the lost animals. This makes it difficult to run a profitable business and to achieve high standards of animal welfare. Additionally, it means farmers are not able to fully utilise grazing lands.

“One autumn we lost 22.3 per cent of all our animals,” explains Solem. “We didn’t find any sheep, alive or dead. Not knowing what happened to your flock takes a toll on you mentally. I cry every time we lose an animal. We had to come up with a solution.”

And so Findmy was born.

Findmy’s tracking collars use GPS to monitor livestock. Each animal is fitted with a collar which is linked to an app on the farmer’s smartphone. This gives the farmer the opportunity to take a more informed and proactive approach to herding.

“In the app, we can see where the sheep are moving and grazing. What their last position was. We can also check for any unusual behaviour,” says Solem.

When a collar shows that an animal has not moved in some time, the farmer can send herders to the exact location of the animal, saving valuable time and resources. The collars use a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) network of satellites, ensuring precision and unmatched connectivity, even in areas without mobile coverage.

Findmy's tracking device is also used to geofence livestock, helping farmers to find animals that are close to the edge of a designated area or that have escaped.

Farmers using Findmy’s tracking system have seen a significant reduction in the number of animals lost to illness or predators, which has a direct impact on income and on farmers’ well-being. This is especially significant for smallholder farms.

The system gives farmers early warning if something happens to animals, improving animal care and welfare and making gathering animals more efficient.

Increased control over livestock also improves utilisation of pastures, soil health and plant life, which in turn can reduce the need for synthetic fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides.

Findmy's system is already used for tracking sheep, cattle, goat, horses, camels, elephants and reindeer. The use of LEO satellites means that the trackers work anywhere in the world.

“Our goal is to establish Findmy on the international stage,” says Solem.

To that end, Solem visited Kenya, where farmers sought Findmy’s help to achieve sustainable grazing, since overgrazing can lead to desertification and the permanent loss of grazing lands.

“We are contacted by farmers from Africa every week. They want to use our Findmy technology to improve their operations,” she explains.

Findmy is a member of NCE Heidner Biocluster, Norway’s national cluster for bioeconomy and sustainable food production.