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The Grazing Grass Podcast features insights and stories of regenerative farming, specifically emphasizing grass-based livestock management. Our mission is to foster a community where grass farmers can share knowledge and experiences with one another. We delve into their transition to these practices, explore the ins and outs of their operations, and then move into the "Over Grazing" segment, which addresses specific challenges and learning opportunities. The episode rounds off with the "Famous Four" questions, designed to extract valuable wisdom and advice. Join us to gain practical tips and inspiration from the pioneers of regenerative grass farming.
This is the podcast for you if you are trying to answer: What are regenerative farm practices? How to be grassfed? How do I graze other species of livestock? What's are ways to improve pasture and lower costs? What to sell direct to the consumer?
On today's episode, we have
Theo Beaumont from Halter.
Halter her does virtual fence.
And if you're interested in
that, this is episode for you.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: We will
get started with the fast five.
What's your name?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840:
My name is Theo Beaumont.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: And
Theo, who do you work for?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: I work
for a company called Halter.
We're a virtual fencing company
based out of New Zealand.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: And you
answer, you got our next question.
Where are you located?
You're based out in New Zealand.
Do you live in New Zealand?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: Technically
yes, although I've spent most of the
last 12 months in the US covering
quite a few different states in the
West and I'll be moving over here
full time from February, so excited
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, yes.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: here full time.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Have you already
figured out where you're going to live?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: I am, I'm
gonna be I'm gonna be just outside
of Denver in Colorado we're putting
our main HQ for the US over here
but yeah, really excited to be here,
so thanks in advance for having me.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, very good.
And where do you all provide
coverage for your product?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: So Halter was
founded in New Zealand originally about
eight years ago so we got coming up over
250, 000 cattle using the system now
in New Zealand, Australia, now the U.
S.
We're live in six
different states in the U.
S.
as of today.
And we'll be, we'll be available for,
for the majority of states in the
West for, for very early next year.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: So when
you, you talk about six states right
now, you're working to get more
of the states mainly in the west?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840:
Yes, yeah, absolutely.
That's the primary focus
for us at this stage.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: And what
countries are you available for outside
of Australia, New Zealand, and the U.
S.?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840:
Just those three.
We've kept it simple.
That's that's our top three.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Yeah.
Do you have any plans to move
into some other countries?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: I think
eventually, yeah, of course, we'll,
we'll be looking, we'll be looking
at Europe, South America, Canada.
But at the moment, we just want
to keep really focused on the US,
make sure we set things up really,
really effectively over here.
And then we can look at other
countries when, when we need to.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, very good.
Yeah.
Cal: Welcome to the grazing grass podcast.
The podcast dedicated to sharing
the stories of grass-based
livestock producers, exploring
regenerative practices that improve
the land animals and our lives.
I'm your host, Cal Hardage and each
week we'll dive into the journeys,
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producers like you, learning from
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cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: So we
talked a little bit about where it's
coverage, but we really haven't even
talked about what the product is.
I really want to cover that a little
bit later, because I really want
to find out your path to Halter.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: So, I guess,
yeah, my, my journey into Halter was
a bit of a, a bit of a whirlwind.
I didn't I wasn't actually born
on a, on a farm originally.
I started working on a sheep
and beef station not far from my
home when I was about 13, fell in
love with the industry was really
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh,
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: A
bunch of producers kind of
took me under their wing.
Did that the whole way
through high school.
I studied agricultural science at Lincoln
University, which is our main ag union and
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, okay.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: I was
looking at the banking route
decided that wasn't quite for me.
And I stumbled across Halter
back in its very early days.
Just when we had a couple of hundred
collars on cows, very early stage startup.
And that was about four
and a half years ago.
So it's been, it's been
a whirlwind since then.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Very good.
Do you see yourself at some
point running your own animals?
Right.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: You know,
I'm not sure what direction life
is going to take me in with Halter,
but I'd love to get to a point where
I could run, run and raise a bunch
of my own cattle in New Zealand.
I think that's just a really, really
cool goal to have particularly
given, you know, whereabouts in
New Zealand I'm usually based.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Where
you live in New Zealand, is there
a lot of farms in that area?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: Yeah, there's
an expression in New Zealand that
everybody has an uncle on a farm and it's,
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: oh, okay.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: generally
true, and for our US listeners,
you'll have to forgive the lingo swap.
Everybody in New Zealand's a
farmer, no matter if you have
crops or cattle or sheep.
So, bear with me there, but Zealand's
got maybe 40 million sheep, 10 million
cattle, and only about 5 million people.
So if you love livestock and
farming, New Zealand's your place.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: I have
to say, New Zealand's on the
list of places I want to visit.
I've not made it there yet, but
the dairy industry over there
has fascinated me for decades.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: Well,
we certainly love visitors.
We've been we've been fortunate
enough to have a bunch of our US
producers visit us over in New
Zealand and yeah, we love visitors.
Our farmers love having people to
visit their systems, have a cup
of tea and show them around and
they can see what we're doing.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Now when
we, we're going to talk a little bit
more about halter later, but halter
gives us some advantages, especially
when we think about regenerative
practices and moving your cattle.
Were the stations you got to
explore while you were in school,
were they rotating cows and using
some regenerative practices?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: Absolutely.
It's a really interesting
kind of discussion, this one.
New Zealand, just because of the way our
systems work, the quantity of grass we
have, we've always rotationally grazed.
You'd struggle to find a producer in the
country that doesn't rotationally graze.
It usually comes into how
much rotating are they doing?
Are they shifting daily or weekly?
Set stocking, aside from it, you
know, particular points of the
year, doesn't, doesn't really
happen anymore back in New Zealand.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840:
Oh, that's very interesting.
I've got a couple of New Zealand YouTube
channels I watch, and I know they rotate,
but I didn't know how widespread that was.
Now, one thing with that, Theo, I
see the channels I follow, they're
big into, I don't know about big,
but they're using fertilizer and some
chemicals to get the forage they want.
Are you seeing any kind of shift with
chemical usage on that land over there?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840:
That's a good question.
I think a lot of it depends on where
in the bats in the country are,
what type of system you're running.
Soil testing is just sort of
common bread and butter tool
across all systems in New Zealand.
So we're constantly monitoring what's
in our soil, what we're inputting and
what we're taking out of the soil.
We've definitely seen the amount
of nitrogen reduce heavily in the
last sort of five to eight years.
And we've seen some really good, you know,
benefits of that without too much sort
of sacrifice from a productivity point
of view, certainly from like a, from a
fertilizer point of view, we use it pretty
commonly to make sure we're not depleting
our soils any more than they need to
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, yeah.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: From a chemical
point of view, that use is absolutely
trying to decrease as costs have gone
up, you know, we try to be really smart
around where we're using chemicals
and a lot of that's cost driven, but
also there's just a really big drive
from like a soil health standpoint,
soil health, pasture quality.
So
there's a strong sort of
flow on appreciation there.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: I, I know
on the channels I watch, seeing them,
they're very deliberate and very
calculated with fertilizer they apply,
and like you said, they're getting
soil tests, they know exactly What
they have and what they need to apply.
It's very interesting on that.
That fact because, maybe this is
just us, when we used to do it,
we just kind of shot in the dark.
You know, said, well, it should help.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: Yeah, I
think we've been we've been fortunate
just to have the tools and the
companies available to do that soil
testing all the time and in a really
cost effective fashion as well.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh yeah, yeah.
With halter starting over there,
what was the, the goal in starting?
Let's, let's see how I
want to word that, Theo.
I think it's, it's interesting,
coming from New Zealand, you're
working with a smaller country, when
you're rotating cows, it doesn't
seem to me it would be large acreage
of land they're rotating cows on.
Now granted, I'm grazing smaller
acreage, and I would love to have
some virtual fencing, because I
think there's a lot of benefit.
But, I'm a little surprised halter got
started there as opposed to like in the
Australian outback or western US where
you've got these vast Ranges of land.
Oh, yes.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: I
think it's a fair question.
And I think if you look at the
product, You can really tell
that we've been designed a bit
with New Zealand originally.
Like I said, New Zealand's
got a lot of cattle.
There's no shortage of them.
Where we started was
actually the dairy space.
What kind of defines New Zealand's
dairy systems is that our cows
live on grass their whole lives.
You know, we might put them on
strip grazing cover crop for a
little bit through winter, but
in general, grass makes up the
vast proportion of their diet.
A lot of that ground is irrigated,
so we're able to actually stock
really heavily on quite small
tracts of, tracts of land.
So, you know, for example you know,
a hundred, a hundred hectare property
could be running three, 350 head on it.
So, I think what that usually comes
with is a lot of time spent walking
behind cows, putting up hot wires.
Very heavy labour investment and that
was probably one of the initial drivers
for Halter and what that kind of morphed
into, which is our wider company mission,
which is how do we make pasture based
systems more profitable, but also more
sustainable, and, and grass really is
our biggest lever for both of those.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: When we when I
think about that, I grew up on a dairy and
I talked just recently we had Ted Miller
on Episode 190 he was on the podcast and
I believe he's using halter You And he
was saying there were some really nice
benefits to moving cows, and it sounded
like, I think he was the one telling me.
You know, we always went, one of us
had to go get cows and bring them to
the barn for each milking, while the
other one got the milk barn ready.
And he was able to do that through
the virtual fencing component, which
I thought was, that was really neat.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: Yeah, I think
that's probably you know, when people
look at us as a product, that's probably
the bit that usually amazes the most.
If you're a dairy farmer in
New Zealand, Aussie, or the U.
S., like at Ted's place right now in
Louisiana if you wanted to bring your
cows in for tomorrow morning's milking you
could just pre set that up on your phone.
And then, let's say you want the cows
at the shed at 5 o'clock in the morning,
well, you arrive at the shed and the cows
are going to be waiting there for you.
The collars will have guided them out of
their pasture all the way down the laneway
to the milking parlour or milking shed.
And I'll tell you what, I've seen
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840:
Which I think is amazing.
I think pulling in at the barn at four
in the morning and the cows be there when
you're arriving would be really nice.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840:
it a lot of times now and it
never gets old every time.
It gives me a little bit of
excitement every time, so
it's it's very special to see.
And yeah, just what, what, what that
has done for like the general, general
day to day lives of our producers
has been, has been pretty powerful.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh yeah,
because, so when we dairied, if, if
one of us was doing the milking, no one
else was available, they had to come
down 30 minutes, 45 minutes ahead of
time to get cows to the barn, then get
in the barn and get everything set up.
So I, I think you said earlier
you all started with dairy
industry kind of in mind.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: Yeah,
so dairy's where we started.
Our CEO and founder, Craig Piggott,
he grew up on a, on a small, you know,
pasture based dairy system in New Zealand.
An absolutely classic sort of size
and scale for, you know, dairy
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh,
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840:
For where he grew up in.
So I think that naturally was a
really good starting point for us.
Yet the first sort of six and a half
years of Halter's life was purely
focused on on the dairy side of things
because it's such a big part of New
Zealand's, you know, agricultural
industry and our entire economy,
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: So, after
those initial years, did you all
What was the plan with the focus?
Did you all go ahead
and move into Australia?
Was that a really quick move?
Or did you focus on going to
beef cattle in New Zealand?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: but at both.
So we're fortunate as a company that we
have such a big market in New Zealand.
There wasn't this huge
rush to get offshore.
And I think that was really beneficial
for keeping us really focused on building
the product as best we could, you know,
working through some of those early
challenges that any new company faces
and really honing in on, you know, how are
we getting the most value for our farms?
So initially we did a dairy expansion
over to Tasmania, and that was
maybe two and a half years ago.
Tasmania is quite a similar
environment to New Zealand
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, yes.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840:
and also a lot of dairy cows.
So we launched over there.
That was fantastic for us.
And then about 12 12 to 15 months
ago, we, we built and launched our,
our beef product in New Zealand.
New Zealand obviously has a big beef
industry across breeding cows, but
also finishing, finishing beef as well.
But really the, the big and high level
goal for our beef product was the US
market the wider Australian market.
There's a lot of
motivation to be over here in that space.
And I think as a company, we
were always really excited
about when we could do beef.
We just wanted to make sure we're
doing it at the right time when
we could do the job properly.
We had a really good product and a
really good team on the ground to make
sure if we're going to do the job,
we were going to do it really well.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, yes, yeah.
And as we talk about those large
ruminants, when did you all
dive into any small ruminants?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: We get
this question a lot being Kiwis, you
know, with 40 million sheep kicking
around our hills, everyone asks, are
we going to do a call of a sheep?
The answer is at least for the
foreseeable future, absolutely not.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, yeah,
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: you know,
we're, we're purely focused on cows.
There's a lot of cows out there, so
I think that's more than enough to
keep us busy for the next wee while.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: You know,
and I think there's a lot to be
said about maintaining your focus in
the correct way without, you know,
getting too many irons in the fire.
My wife likes to tell me every
time I have a new idea you
have enough going on right now.
So yeah, focus in on your product
and once that's all going better,
you can look at other things.
But right now, work, work on
the path you have ahead of you.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: We think so.
I think you know, we don't
have any other products.
Virtual fencing is, everything we have.
So everybody at Halter is
focused on nothing but that.
And I think, you know, when we look
forwards, you know, our, our company
mission is pretty lofty and, you know,
that's really to drive super meaningful
change for the future of, you know,
pasture based ag systems globally.
You know, that's not a quick process.
So for us, we want to see virtual
fencing as a tool to get us there.
So let's stay really focused on that
virtual fencing piece in cattle.
And then that's going to be the best,
best way for us to achieve that goal.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: You've
been available in New Zealand
for the longest time, obviously.
How has the reception been there,
and how has the rollout gone?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: Look,
it hasn't been without challenges.
You know, you're, you're a growing
company or a startup, you know, you
get challenges every single day.
I think when, when the concept for Halter
was sort of first put across, you know,
there was a lot of skepticism as you
can imagine, but there was also a lot of
excitement there's a lot of challenges
in New Zealand's ag space labor, costs
and there's a heap of challenges there.
And I think everyone sort of saw
Halter as a way that it could,
you know, really changed the game.
However, you know, being really early, you
get your initial skeptics and that's okay.
So I think for us, it was around, you
know, get enough feet on the ground
initially, and then and you're starting
to build up that trust in the market.
So there has been challenges.
The dairy industry in New Zealand has
gone through some really big issues
and challenges with, with prices.
But overall, we're
incredibly proud of how it's gone.
You know, we've got over
200, 000 dairy cows.
New Zealand using the system.
And all of those have really come in the
last, you know, three and a half years.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, yes.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: So while I
wouldn't say we're perfect, we still
have things we can learn and do better.
And, you know, we can continue to
build more trust in the market.
We're really proud of what we've done.
And I'm just so lucky to have
been able to work with such
good producers from day one.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, yes.
Another question on your New
Zealand market before we really
dive more into closer to me.
With your, your rollout there and getting
started, there's going to be hurdles.
We all know that.
What is a, a stumbling block that you
all overcame that you, you look back and
say, that was, that really helped us?
Ha
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: to start?
I know how long we've been here
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: ha ha
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: um,
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840:
Recording is going, so just
take
off.
Ha ha
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: plenty on there.
To be honest, the biggest one that
actually comes to mind, and there's,
there's heaps I could choose from,
but I'm going to pick this one
was really getting targeted on
what the value proposition was.
And then as a company, what
do we need to most focus on?
So
often when people first hear about
Halter, they immediately jump to labor.
They're like, fantastic.
No one has to walk cows to the shed.
No one has to go put up fences.
Save all this time in labor.
I've got a heap of pain, you
know, in that part of my business.
It's expensive.
It's hard to retain labor.
So then for a while, you know,
as a company, we really focused
on that and we sort of got caught
up in this talking about labor.
A lot of the focus was on labor.
But then when we actually had
a bit of a realization that.
You know, at its, at its core principles.
And that's first principles halter
is just a tool to change your
grazing management while in New
Zealand, you know, 80 percent of your
profitability, give or take is usually
dictated by your grazing management.
So we had a real, real big, like epiphany
almost as a company and realized we
really need to double down on pasture,
what the value of pasture was, and it
wasn't so much around how are you grazing
currently with polywire or hot wire.
It was around if you had unlimited
fences, what would you do?
That was the biggest sort of, you know.
Breakthrough moment for us is really
doubling down on pasture, what that
meant, and then consequently really
angling the product to focus so
heavily on that pasture side of things.
So it was a really interesting
stumbling block to come across.
You know, we didn't figure it
out overnight, but I'm really
stoked that we did and it's
been a big game changer for us.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Yeah, because
that, it gives you the ability to
manage your, your grass much more
intensively without the additional labor.
Labor comes into it, but yeah, you're,
you're managing your grass even better.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: what I really
like about that is, you know, pasture
management isn't just unique to dairy.
It's across beef systems as well.
So I think as we start to look offshore,
and particularly it's found at the beef
market, that focus on grazing management
is going to serve us really well.
Theo, it's time we transitioned to our
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cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: We're going to
dive deeper into, to Halter as what's
available in the US and Australia.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840:
Yeah, absolutely.
So Halter, as I mentioned, you're doing
New Zealand company originally we've
always been really excited about the U.
S.
market quite a lot of our investment
as a company has come out of the U.
S., so there was always a really strong
alignment to get on the ground over here.
First though, we had to come and learn
about your systems so that's what I've
been doing for sort of the last 12 months.
I've been fortunate enough to visit a
heap of ranches right across the West.
Everyone's made me feel very welcome.
Just trying to learn as much as
we can about your systems, how
they vary between states, how
it varies from New Zealand.
To make sure for a product side of
things, you know, we're giving you a
tool that's going to be really impactful.
So that was step one.
Step two was actually
getting some ranches live.
So we launched our first
ranch about six months ago.
Our first one was up in Oregon.
And since then we've, we've got ranches
live across Oregon, California, Montana,
Colorado, Kansas, Texas Louisiana.
And, and there'll be a heap
more states to come sort of in
January and February next year.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: oh yes.
And, and you mentioned this a
little bit earlier, you've, you've
got those states, the other states
are coming pretty quick, quickly.
How are you identifying
what states you want to add?
And what's that process
to get a new state online?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: Yeah, there's,
there's a few moving parts to that.
I think, you know, usually we really
like to try to spend some time in that
state to learn about the systems and
figure out, Hey, is this a good fit?
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: You
know, commercially, there's easy
levers you can look at, like
cattle numbers in certain states.
You can probably tell looking
at those states I listed off.
You know, they're all big cattle states
and rightly so we have to think really,
you know, efficiently as a business.
When we do go into a new state, we,
we really like to have someone from
Holton Live on the ground in that state.
We're big
leaders in coming up the driveway.
So hiring a team in all those
states is really important and
something we take really seriously
so that we can provide really good.
You know, customer service to our
ranches once they've got halter,
there's always a few little logistical
things to figure out with shipping
and, you know, new states and
various laws and bits and pieces, but
we've got that pretty dialed in now.
So, I'd say, you know, if
we decided tomorrow that we
want to get a ranch live and.
Nevada.
We could make that happen pretty quickly.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840:
oh yeah, yeah, is the same.
Are you all available
completely across Australia?
Or are you in certain territories there?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: So
Australia at the moment, we're just
available in Tasmania and Queensland.
We will look
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, OK,
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: spread out
across other parts of Australia in
due course, but again, just keeping
focused at the moment, not, not trying
to run before we can walk over there.
And it's a, it's a big old bit of ground.
Yes.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: is.
I, I think there's, there's a lot more
hurdles in some of those vast areas there
than what you would find out in Western U.
S.
So I can see why.
Or the.
I can see your path there
and why you're going there.
Let's, let's talk actually
about the product and what it
looks like for a farmer who, or
rancher that's going to do this.
You've got a collar on a cow,
and it's, it's got GPS and solar.
Do they have anything else
they have to put in place?
Does it have a base unit, a tower?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: Yes.
Yeah, there's a few,
there's a few pits there.
So yeah, you're absolutely right.
Every cow gets a collar.
It's very own collar.
It's solar powered, which is great.
There's no batteries to change.
Once they go on, they stay on.
So that's really important.
And we put up base stations around
a ranch or a property as well.
That uses a, that puts its own
network out over a property
that pulls all the data up.
off the collars
the whole time.
So why that's been really valuable
for us in in more rural parts of
the world is that we don't need
any cell service to operate in.
So if you're on a ranch and
you've got no or very limited cell
service it's not going to be a
restriction for you coming on board.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: So if that's
using like Wi Fi technology so you
can connect back to the base, are you
working with some line of sight there?
Or how many stations or towers do
you have to have to cover an area?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: It
really depends on the area.
The towers just have to see another
tower.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840:
make a big difference.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840:
Yeah, you got it.
So the tower just needs to
be able to see another tower.
So it forms a seamless sort of
mesh network across the property.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: And we
typically, we don't leave dead spots.
We're shooting for 100
percent coverage at all times.
And yeah, the terrain is
really the biggest then that
influences that coverage.
So if you're a dead flat ranch with no
trees, well, you know, you might get five,
seven thousand acres off one tower alone.
If you go up the
Rockies into Forest Service, BLM
ground, for example, heap of trees,
that's not going to be as high.
So we basically have to just
customize it to every single ranch.
And we've got a pretty efficient
process to work that through.
We just need to look at some maps and
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, yes.
So, based upon that, a tower is going
to cover a few miles of terrain,
depending up on the, depending on the
terrain, if you've got nice flat land.
Makes a big difference, yeah.
Now you, you mentioned you're
shooting for 100 percent coverage.
You get out west, you
got some deep gullies.
I don't even know what
they're called in the west.
Gullies is what I'd call them here.
And draws.
How, how's coverage on those type areas or
have you all experienced too much of that?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: Unfortunately
for us, New Zealand's got a big
line of mountains running right down
the middle of our, middle of the
South Island, which is where I live.
So a lot of our sheep and beef
systems run in very steep, difficult
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh yes.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: I'm very
glad that we have experienced a bunch
of that before we came over to the U.
S.
So, no that sort of big mountainous
terrain, while it's not as easy as
flat ground doesn't scare us and
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh
yeah.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: workable, just
needs a bit, bit of thought put behind it.
Same,
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: yeah.
Yeah.
You mentioned.
A tower, base station.
Are those one part that's together?
Or are we talking a tower out
somewhere and a base station in a barn?
Or
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: same word, same,
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, okay.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840:
it's just a singular tower
that's solar powered as well.
So you just,
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840:
Oh, it's solar powered.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: that's it.
So it just goes anywhere
that we need to put it.
And yeah, however many you
need around your property.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, okay.
And you said the collars are solar
powered, so you don't have to
worry about replacing batteries.
So that's going to extend the
life of those, I would assume.
But what's the lifetime of those collars?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: Yeah,
so we designed the collars
to last about five years.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh,
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: but because
we pair it with a subscription model
the warranty is always on halter.
So if anything, if it did go wrong with
those collars that's, that's on halter.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, okay.
So is it a, a lease on the collars
and if there's any problem, you
all take care of the problem.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: It's
actually, it's similar, but
it's actually subscription.
So we
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, okay.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840:
collars, it's theirs.
But yeah, if anything does go wrong
with the collars, if one breaks,
or there's a problem with one,
not that it's particularly common
yeah, that that's, that's halter's
problem and we, we sort that.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, yes.
And then they, the ranch is also
purchasing the base station tower.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840:
Essentially, yes, yeah,
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Yeah.
Yeah.
And is there a lifetime on that or
is that good for foreseeable future?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: for
serval future, and again, the
warranties, the warranties on halter.
Obviously, if you, if you drive into it
and snap in half that, that's on the,
that's on the rancher, but anything
internal that, that's halter's problem.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: so a ranch
reaches out to you and they're in one of
those states that you guys are already in.
How long is the process till they
can have it going on their ranch?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: Good question.
Yeah.
In New Zealand, we only need
about four weeks notice.
In the US, because it's a bit newer,
it's a bit further away, we really
need about eight weeks notice.
As you can imagine, there's,
there's busier times of year.
April, May are going to be super
busy for us when everyone's
bringing their cows in anyway.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: yeah.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: So I think,
yeah, minimum eight weeks, but you know,
the more notice we can get, the better.
You know, always we're taking a lot of
pride in, and if a producer really wants
halter and they need it by a particular
time frame, we will, we will move heaven
and earth to try and make that happen
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, yeah, and
as you're expanding in those states, are
you focused just on cattle or is it beef
more or dairy more or just cattle equally?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: Good question.
I'd say that just given the market
size, you know, 97 percent of the focus
will be on beef cow calf operations.
Unfortunately, there's just isn't a huge
amount of grazing dairies in the US.
We're fortunate enough to have Ted
down in Louisiana, which is great.
We're in chats with a bunch more grazing
dairies, but I'm going to say that the
primary focus is on beef, but obviously
if there are, you know, pasture based
grazing dairies where the product is
going to be really valuable, we, we won't,
you know, we won't just ignore them.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Right, because
we we've got so many confined dairies
and that confinement, they got all
kinds of other worries to worry about.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: Yeah,
and I don't think the solar is
probably not going to go very
well in a confinement dairy, so.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Yeah, right.
Yeah.
So, you get the collars in, is that
something that a rancher has someone
from Halter coming out, putting them on,
is that on the rancher to put them on?
How's that process to
initially get started?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840:
Yep, I can I can outline that.
So I guess you know, after you've met with
one of our team and you've decided, yep,
we're going to go ahead with HALTER we're
aiming for a particular month, we'll have
taken all your ranch maps, we'll have
mapped them all, we'll have got it set
up in an app inside the HALTER app, and
we'll have drawn in all your features, all
your fence lines, watering points, etc.
Yep.
The producers are going to get
access to that app and then they're
going to go through an onboarding
process and that's typically like
two weeks before collars turn up.
So that's us training them and their
staff how to use the app, how it works
as a tool, and really making sure when
they do collar they've got a really good
understanding of what they're doing.
Collars and tails arrive on the ranch.
Ranches go and self install the towers.
First one usually takes about an hour.
After that they take about 20 minutes.
They're just designed for one person
to be able to put up and down.
So that's one part of it.
We'll be able to see remotely
that the whole network is
live and we're good to go.
For collaring, you know, that,
that's the most exciting day.
That's, that's Christmas morning.
Typically this is just driven
by the ranchers and producers.
You know, there are occasions where we'll
have people on the ground which, which can
be great for our linens, but what we've
found is ranchers know their cattle best
and tends not, you know, to spook in the
least if it's just them dealing with them.
So collars will arrive, let's say you're
collaring a 300 head, you'll have them
in the corrals, you collar them in a.
In a shoot typically with backing bars.
You put a collar on a cow, you beep it
with the app on your phone, then you type
in the ear tag number on your phone, and
that assigns that collar to that cow.
Off she goes.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, okay.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: And then
prior to collaring the ranch with their
account manager will have worked out a
really specific, individualized training
program for their own system, so that
they can immediately go into that, you
know, two week, typically sort of two
week training period, post collaring.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Let's
jump back to the training for the
farmer before he gets the collars.
Is that going to be an in person training?
Is that a Zoom training?
Or is that recorded
videos for that producer?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: Combination,
but and sometimes we have to tailor it for
the specific ranch, but the majority is a
Zoom, Zoom session online, you know, it's
not quite face to face, but it's about as
good as face to face as we can make it.
So we've got a, we've got a
specialized team whose entire job is
onboarding our our producers and it's
something we take really seriously.
We always joke that sometimes
training the producers can be
harder than training the cows.
So we want to invest a lot of time
and effort into that to make sure
people feel really comfortable.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh yeah,
I, I would suspect that's the case.
Now, on training the cows, you, you
mentioned a couple weeks, so you
all work with the farmer, design the
original, or the, the two week training
period, or however long it needs for
those cows to get used to the system.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: That's correct.
And when I say we work with the
rancher, it's because every ranch
operates a little bit differently.
And, you know, we need to
tailor that training to, to
match how that ranch operates.
Particularly as we're going in the US,
we're learning more and more about that.
So there's more focus on it.
And it's just to make sure that, you
know, training is really important.
So we want to set the cows up to succeed.
We want to make sure it's really
easy for the rancher, while as easy
as it can be to make sure that we're
getting the right outcome there.
So, For example, if you always,
if you always shift your cattle
with horses, we're going to
incorporate horses into the training.
But if you only use four wheelers,
we're just going to use four wheelers.
So this is that process of weaning
the cattle off what they're used to
and weaning them onto the collars.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, yes.
Let's, let's talk just a moment
how the collars work to keep the
cows where they're supposed to be.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: Yes.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: When
you turn them out there, I'm
assuming, while in my conversations,
there's some feedback for the cow.
Maybe, maybe auditory feedback.
Does it also vibrate for
them, or is it just auditory?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: No,
there's three cues that we use.
So we've
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, okay.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: auditory
cues and then we've got a low
energy electric pulse and then
we've got vibration as well.
So all three are used quite
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Yeah,
it's an electric pulse, yeah.
Okay.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840:
Yeah, you got it.
The primary cue is the sound, and
this is, this is really important.
So, well, if I was a cow and I was
walking towards the screen, and
we'll pretend it's a virtual fence.
I'm going to be getting beeps that
increase in volume and frequency as I get
closer, so I'm learning to associate that
that increase in volume means getting
closer to a fence, a little bit, a
little bit like your car
backing into a brick wall,
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh yeah.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: get right up to
that fence, and I'm talking super close.
I'm going to get beeps in either ear, so
we beep the cows in the right ear, turn
them left, left ear, turn them right.
So we've got that individual
directional guidance for each animal,
turning it away from the fence.
The actual virtual
fence isn't a hard line.
You know, don't, don't think of it
like a polywire where they touch it
and then suddenly get, get get, you
know, a shock off the, off the fence.
With Halter, how it's actually working is
the cow's allowed to step over the fence,
the collar recognizes that she's out,
tries to guide her back into zone, again,
using the beeps and lifter right here.
And if she's over for too long, that's
when she'll get that, that other cue,
which is the pulse to say, right, hurry.
Move back over.
The really key thing for us there is
that, you know, you put this foreign
object down a cow's neck, suddenly
she can no longer see a fence.
So, it's up to us to make sure the cow
understands exactly where that virtual
fence is, and it's really predictable and
really consistent for her at all times.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: so I'm assuming
that the training process you're going to
have either a poly wire because the cows
are broke to it or we're working with a
Solid fence that's going to to just train
them along that fence So when they're
close to it, they're getting beeped at and
if they get too close Then maybe they get
shocked and it's eventually you're gonna
move the fence away and they're gonna
have the ability to go across that line
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: Essentially,
yeah, you could be in my job, mate.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Well, wow,
boy, there's not too many jobs I
can do well, so no worries, Theo.
When, I think it's interesting, one
thing you said there that I didn't
realize was they're getting auditory
feedback on left or right side to,
so that they know which way to go,
or which way to move away from.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: Absolutely.
And that's just about, again, it's that
predictability for the cow, you know,
so for example, if we were going to
shift cows, so let's say, let's say at
150 acre pasture, for argument's sake,
and you want to split it into thirds,
so you could rotate a bit harder and
it shift them once every two days.
If you said, right, I want them to shift
out of that first part of that paddock
at four o'clock this afternoon, when that
timer goes off and you've just preset this
on your phone, each cow gets a combination
of sound to help face her head in the
right direction of where she needs to go.
So understanding, Hey,
this is where I need to go.
And then the colors vibrate and the
vibration is the positive cue that
they associate with moving forwards.
They associate that with right, fresh
feed, time to move, so it's the sound
in each ear and the vibration working
together to help persuade that cow
to move into their next area, and
then it would close off behind them.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, okay, so,
so you're getting the auditory feedback
when you're trying to turn, or, or move.
And then the vibration is when
they're facing the right way and
they just need to walk forward.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: you got it.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, interesting.
I didn't realize that about the vibration.
I thought that might be another
cue that was between the
sound and the electric pulse.
But it's actually a positive thing.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: It is, and I
think that's really important because,
you know, we all know cattle, if we try
to spook them to move them, they don't,
they don't feel that happily about it.
So, that vibration has always been just
such a like fundamental part of the
collar and why it's able to work so well
with the cows is that they trust it.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, yeah.
I really like that positive aspect of it
that I hadn't thought about
that I really like on that.
When you're initially getting these
collars on, That's something foreign
around a cow's neck and stuff.
Is there anything that a person has to
watch out for during that initial period?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: I think to
make sure we're putting the collars
on correctly, we want to put them
on snug, but to be honest, I mean,
this is a collar here, you know,
there's an iPhone for comparison.
They're pretty small, super lightweight.
They're really comfortable
around a cow's neck.
And I always do find amazing is
how quickly they get used to them.
But my recommendation would just be
make sure you've really Go on and ask
your questions around what you need
to do to collar most successfully.
Make sure you've got a few
pairs of hands to help you.
So that, you know, we're putting
them on as efficiently as we can.
We're not leaving them standing
on concrete in the yards for
any longer than necessary.
And we can get them back out
in the pasture and behind
their first virtual fence.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Is there
any concern about if they're grazing
in a wooded area and getting a
limb between their collar and neck?
Is that, is that a real concern or
is those collars snug enough that's
not really that big a concern?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840:
I think it's a bit of both.
I, I don't think it's, it's not a
huge concern from the collar side.
I mean, the collar is not going to break.
And it's designed so that it
will, it will come off if it
gets caught up on something.
So it will tear
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: so
there's a safety release on it?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: 100
percent there's, there's two.
So first it would tear between the
holes and the buckle so that the
mucin and the cow can slip out of it.
Second, the whole collar will snap.
So that's just like a fundamental
Part of, you know, how the
collar has been designed.
I think, you know, if you're looking at
super dense timber country, like forest
service ground, Waban mountains, yeah,
that concern is probably going to be a
little bit higher, but I think, you know,
we've worked really hard to make sure
we're mitigating that as best we can.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh yeah.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: And,
yeah, it's not something we've
seen an issue with so far.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: And we've
talked about putting them on cows
and getting them trained to cows.
Do calves have to have them?
At what point does a calf
need their own collar?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840:
Yeah, it's a fair question.
There's two sides to this.
With calves, we actually don't want
to collar them quite deliberately.
The reason being is, is we
want those calves to be able
to creep feed ahead of mum.
You know, particularly those
last three months when they start
really competing with mum for feed.
With a virtual fence, if we can just
contain mum behind, but let all the
calves feed ahead, we're going to
really boost those weaning weights.
I guess that's one kind
of really big thing.
Large benefit of the virtual
fence in the first place.
If you are doing grass finished beef,
for example And you want to finish a
bunch of those Those animals yourself.
We we typically will only collar from
about eight months and up and we find
any any young in that Too difficult to
train but eight months and up is pretty
normal for us to collar collar and
train That that age bracket of animals
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: when we
think about cows eight months and
up, you're dealing with a large
size range from a calf to a bull.
Are you collaring bulls and
do your collars work well
in those different sizes?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: They
certainly work well in all
different sizes of cattle out there.
We've got a heap of different breeds.
And that's, that's part and parcel.
You just make the strap a bit longer.
We do not collar breeding mature bulls.
It's not necessarily because we
don't think we could hold them.
It's really just physiologically,
necks are bigger than heads,
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, yeah.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: the gun.
So, yeah, it's not something that
we, we, we don't call it bulls.
We find the bulls smaller
than the cows anyway.
And ideally, because we're going to be
hopefully containing the cows in a smaller
area the bulls are going to service,
service the mortar a lot more effectively
and not lose them particularly in, you
know, more extensive timber country.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: When
you're, we've talked about that
we're able to move them, you're able
to move them from your, your phone,
shift them to a different paddock.
Is that phone app, you pull it up, is that
showing you a location of every caller?
And what other information
does it give you?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: Yes, there's
a, there's a few bits to that, but yeah,
I guess first and foremost Halter will
always show you the live GPS location of
every single cow that has a collar on it.
So I think.
You know, the first bit of, the first
really cool thing about Halter is you
can see your, you can see your farm
from anywhere, you know, you could be
in a different state, you could be, you
know, your kid's football game, you could
pull up your phone and say, hey, my cows
are where they need to be, fantastic.
There is a bunch of different information
that producers can see in the app.
That does vary between dairy versus beef.
Dairy, there's a heap of features
in there that we'll probably
take too long to talk about.
For beef, it's a little
bit more stripped back.
But you can see all of your historical
grazings, you can search for a cow at
any point, you can see all the live
locations and there's a heap, there's a
heap built in there as well which I think
producers always really enjoy seeing as
part of that exploratory process into what
Halter is and how it could work for them.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Is it
giving you, like, feedback on,
well, like, my, my phone tells
me how many steps I took today.
Now, whether or not it's
accurate is debatable.
But, is it giving some activity monitoring
of those cows to the user on the app?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: So for
dairy, absolutely we're measuring.
All of their movement, their
rumination, their live grazing, and
when they're resting or restless.
And we use that for a lot of our features
in dairy around the heat detection,
health alerts, calving alerts.
There's a whole heap there.
For beef, no.
The majority is just focused on
the GPS location and movement
for our own internal systems.
We're not saying, hey, you
know, cow 371s miles today.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
So, so for beef cows, you're not giving
feedback that a cow may be in heat.
Or,
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: No,
no, not at this stage for beef.
And part of that just comes
from the extensive side.
You know, if, if we did say, hey, we
think cow triple two is a bit sick,
you know, what are you going to do?
Ride, ride, you know, half a day
to go have a look at her and then
potentially not find anything wrong.
So, you know, whether we look at
it in the future is a different, a
different debate, but at the moment
we've just stayed really true to that
core value prop, which is around just
the containment and the shifting piece.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Right.
When we think about dairy versus
beef, you know, and dairy, they're,
they're likely to be AI ing their cows.
They need to know when they're in heat.
With, with beef cattle, it might
be nice to know that, but we've
got a bull that's supposed to be
taking care of that out there.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840:
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
It's just, it's just a matter of,
you know, cost and functionality and,
and really, I guess, actually that
functionality pieces is where is it
going to be used and how is it going
to be used and is it actually going to
be useful when it comes to your system
and, and eventually your bottom line.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: We talked a
little bit earlier a couple weeks for
the cows to get used to it and get the
system going in that Implementation
stage when the farmers doing it cows
getting used to it, and they they
finally get out And they can manage it.
What have been some hiccups
that farmers have or is that
pretty smooth that transition?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: I mean,
if you'd asked me that question, you
know, three years ago, we probably
would have had a different answer,
but I'm, I can proudly say that now
it's pretty slick and pretty smooth.
You know, we've collared so many
cattle now across the world that
we've, we've seen every sort of mistake
that producers can typically make.
Not saying we've figured out
all of them, but yeah, that,
that process is pretty smooth.
It's like,
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Now,
when we talk about grazing season,
that's going to last so many months.
You know, we all dream of
being able to graze year round.
If they bring cattle into a more confined
area for winter feeding or something,
is that a problem with your old collar?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840:
no, no, not at all.
I mean, on a feedlot, sure.
That's, that's not going to work.
I don't know where that would fit in.
But it's very common for producers to
bale graze with halter, for example,
if that's something you wanted to do.
Something that we've really specialized in
and that I can confidently say we, we do.
We're awesome at is anything to do
with strip grazing, cover crops bubble,
anything on that side of things.
People can use the collars for really
effectively, just really intensively, you
know, graze, graze those areas if that
was something they were wanting to do.
Sort
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Let's say a
producer is going to cull some cows.
They pull that collar off.
Is that collar then can be reset
and used for another animal?
Or what's the process for that?
Yeah.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: of collaring
process in reverse, you're going
to pull that cow in, you're going
to take that collar off, you're
going to beep it with your phone.
Unassign it from that cow, put it on your
new cow, assign it to her, easy done.
So that's, that's an immediate process
that, that the producer can do.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, yes.
Yeah.
To the ranches that have implemented it,
do you typically see ranches that are
already doing a lot of grazing management?
The ones implementing it, or have you had
a fair number that go from set stock and
now they're doing this rotational grazing
because halter gives them that ability.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: Okay.
I think it's been a real combination
from what I've seen so far.
You know, I think there's a lot of
ranchers out there who, who would
really like to rotation and graze
more, but you know, with fencing it.
20, 000 mile you know, really difficult
with labor, the extensive environments
to make polywire just not feasible.
I think that's where a huge amount of
interest in Halter has come from, from
producers who know that's something
they want to do, but they've just never
been able to even consider doing it.
And then the flip side, there
are a bunch of producers sort of
in the Midwest who are already
really intensively and efficiently
grazing with a lot of polywire.
But you know, that comes with
a lot of labor and a lot of
times I think it varies a lot.
And we've been really pleased
to see a lot of that variation.
It hasn't been isolated to, you know, a
particular sort of segment of the market.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Yeah.
And I know earlier we talked about
when we think about that fence line for
halter, it's not really a poly wire.
That's that defines it.
Just, you know, right there.
It's a little bit more of a zone.
How close are we able to get those
zones and how close are we able
to to grease cattle in an area?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: Tight.
Again, because we come from a country
where strip grazing, Really intensively
is just bread and butter for our systems.
It's something we're really good at.
I think there's two parts to that.
First, I guess for me, something that I
found hard to get over when I first joined
Halter was this notion that a virtual
fence doesn't have to be a straight line.
You know, you can do
whatever shape you want.
If you want to make a wheel, graze a
pasture or from a central watering point.
Awesome.
If you want to like keep them out of this
little area of Larkspur, even easier.
So I think there's, there's
that side to it as well.
You can draw it any shape you want to.
We won't let you put cattle in
a break fence that's less than
one meter squared per head.
So that's pretty tight, although we do
recommend that you give them a minimum
of about three meters squared per head.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, yeah, yeah.
Okay, yeah.
I, I don't know what kind
of poundage that would be
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840:
Very, that would be very tight.
Yeah.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840:
it would be pretty tight.
Yeah, it would.
Yeah.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: I'd
be I'd be shocked if a producer
ever found a situation where they
wanted to go tighter than that.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, because that's not much spaces.
I'm thinking about, I'm trying
to think of the times I've seen
a million pounds per acre, and I
think that would still get that, and
I could be totally wrong on that.
I'm not grazing at that density, so.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: Yeah.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: We, we've
kind of wandered around and talked
a lot of things about halter.
Is there anything we didn't
cover that you're like, hey,
we really need to get this in?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: You know, I
think we've covered a lot of ground.
I think probably you know, people
always ask like, What makes Halter
different and, and, you know,
what's it like to work with Halter?
And I think there's a few
fundamental kind of product things.
One, virtual fencing is the
only part of our business.
The solar, probably another.
But you know, if you, if you called any
single one of our producers anywhere
in the world tomorrow, and you said,
what's the best thing about Halter?
The first thing they're going
to say, I'd, I'd put money on it
as our, as our customer service
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, yes.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840:
maybe it's a Kiwi thing, but
we love coming up the driveway.
We love having a cup of coffee, so
I think it's, it's really important
branches understand, you know, when
they do get halter, the service only
starts there, you know, we're going
to keep coming up the driveway, keep
working with them really closely.
And I think for us, you know,
as we're launching the U.
S.,
we're working really hard on building
that trust and, and meeting as many people
as we can in all these different states.
That's something we
take a lot of pride in.
We want people to hold us
to a really high standard.
And I just know that it's, that's
the first thing that people tend
to tend to love about halter.
Alongside the product is just the
service that comes alongside it.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Oh, very good.
And you brought up a brought a question
to my mind when you mentioned coffee.
Do Kiwis like to drink coffee
or is it more tea there?
What, what's the,
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: You know what?
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: there?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: We'll
we'll take what we're given.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Yeah,
well, I drink most anything.
Yeah.
If it's, if it's hot, I'm good.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: Yeah,
that's a similar attitude.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Yeah.
Well, Theo, it's time for us to
transition to our famous four questions.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: Sure.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: four
questions we ask of all of our guests.
Our first question.
What is your favorite grazing
grass related book or resource?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: Tell
you what, this one is not easy.
And you know, sorry, some of
my professors at university,
if they ever listened to this.
My favorite one is actually a
book called the resilient farmer.
It's about.
It's about a producer in sort of
the top end of the South Island,
New Zealand, very dry, arid part
of the world, horrific droughts.
And it talks about his journey
implementing another type of feed
into his system called lucerne and
the challenges that came up with that.
And he was really a pioneer for, for this
type of species in dry land environments.
And it, it changed the game for just a
vast number of, of Kiwi, Kiwi operators.
Amazing read, couldn't
recommend it more highly.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840:
No, very interesting.
That's not one.
I've had before so I'm interested.
I'll have to look that up
Yeah, our second question.
What's your favorite tool for the farm?
And, and I know right off
you're going to say halter,
because
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: What else?
What would you expect me to say?
I've, I've kind of got, I would
get think how many people outta
nowhere if I didn't say Holder.
I owe it to our producers.
I'm sticking with Holder
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Right, right.
Third question, what would you
tell someone just getting started?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: Look, I think
no matter where you're starting in the
egg space if you are setting up your
own system if you're joining a farm,
if you want to start working for a
producer, if you wanna join an ag company.
Just be curious.
Take the time to go really deep
on understanding the systems.
You know, there's so much
knowledge in the ag space.
So, you know, get out and offer to help
that farmer for a day on, on their land.
Really get a sense of what they
do and just keep asking questions.
As, as my biggest bit
of advice to anybody.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: I
think that's great advice, Theo.
I love just be curious.
That gets you so far.
And lastly, where can others find out
more about you, more about Halter?
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840:
A few different ways.
I mean, we're pretty friendly
and easy to get hold of.
Website's a great starting point.
It's got contact details for me, for all
of our people in New Zealand, Australia.
So no matter where you are
there's someone at email.
You'll find my face on there
somewhere with my email and phone.
I'm pretty good on comms.
So any questions, we're an open
book, flick me an email and I'll
be more than happy to answer any
questions that anybody has out there.
cal_1_12-15-2024_131840: Wonderful.
Theo, we appreciate you coming
on and sharing with us today.
theo_1_12-15-2024_121840: No,
thank you very much for having me.
I appreciate it.