Virtual fences, more productive land, and native bush returning – inside the tech-driven system at the heart of farming’s future.
For Jon and Fiona Sherlock, the future of farming is not about choosing between productivity and the environment.
On their 660ha West Waikato sheep and beef farm, Otorohaea Ltd, they are trying to prove the two aren’t at odds – they can actually strengthen each other.
The third-generation family farm has undergone a significant transformation over the past few years, moving from a largely traditional sheep-based model towards technology-enabled cattle grazing system designed around the capability of the land.
Around three years ago, low sheep and beef prices, high interest rates and rising costs were putting the business under significant pressure.
“We were definitely going backwards at that point,” Jon says.
The couple had spent years making incremental improvements, but realised something more fundamental needed to change.
A trial of cell-grazing – a farming technique whereby smaller areas are grazed more intensively and stock moved more regularly – gave them their first indication of what might be possible.
Using a single mob of cattle and temporary electric fencing, production on the 20ha trial area roughly doubled.
Three years ago, the operation was around 75% sheep and 25% cattle, with approximately 4000 sheep. Today, cattle make up about 80% of the operation, and fewer than 1000 sheep remain.
The breakthrough that allowed them to take the system further was virtual fencing.
Each animal wears a solar-powered collar linked to GPS. The Sherlocks draw virtual boundaries using a mobile phone, with cattle receiving an audio cue as they approach the boundary and a small electrical pulse if they cross it.
Once trained, Jon says, most animals respond to the audio cue alone.
The technology means cattle can be moved between grazing areas without kilometres of conventional fencing, a major advantage on steep hill country where physical fencing can be difficult and expensive.
It has also allowed the family to exclude livestock from streams, wetlands, seepage zones, steep gullies and other environmentally sensitive areas.
Around 20% of the farming landscape has been retired from livestock, while production has been concentrated on areas best suited to grazing.
Rather than reducing output, Jon says the change has had the opposite effect.
“We’ve more than doubled our production per hectare,” he says.
The system now extends across around 240ha of moderately steep hill country. Jon estimates cattle are consuming at least 50% more grass on the same land than under the previous system.
The environmental changes are becoming visible too.
Keeping cattle out of streams reduces contamination and stream-bank erosion, while maintaining heavier pasture cover helps prevent sediment running off hills during large rainfall events.
With livestock removed from riparian areas, Fiona says native species including mānuka and kānuka are beginning to return.
The farm is also involved in an AgResearch hill-country project, providing real-world data to help researchers understand the environmental effects of these grazing systems.
Early stream-bank assessments have been encouraging. According to Jon, after just one summer more than 90% of the streams within the new grazing system had improved to a score of one, the highest available score in that assessment.
Other improvements, including changes in water quality and biodiversity, are expected to take longer to measure.
The approach earned Otorohaea recognition at the 2026 Ballance Farm Environment Awards, where the Sherlocks were named Regional Supreme Winners and received awards for agri-science, farming efficiency, agri-business management, water protection and innovation.
For Fiona, the environmental gains are also personal.
The farm has been in the Sherlock family since Jon’s grandparents bought it in the 1940s, and the couple are now raising the fourth generation there.
“The environment has always been big for us,” she says.
Areas once considered too difficult or expensive to protect can now be retired and restored.
“You can just imagine what it’s going to look like in a few years’ time,” Fiona says.
For the Sherlocks, the bigger opportunity extends beyond Otorohaea.
Jon believes virtual fencing and precision grazing could give other hill-country farmers more options for improving both business resilience and environmental performance.
They are already seeing neighbouring farmers adopt similar ideas after visiting the property. That matters in rural communities where financially sustainable farms support jobs, businesses, schools and local services.
It also matters to New Zealand more broadly. New research commissioned by Beef + Lamb New Zealand estimates the red meat sector supports around 120,000 jobs directly and indirectly, generating spending of $133 million a day across the country.
For urban New Zealanders who may have little direct connection to farming, Jon hopes developments such as those at Otorohaea offer a different picture of the industry.
“Sometimes we feel like we’re represented as being hard on the environment and even a little bit backward,” he says.
Instead, he sees technology creating an opportunity for farmers to produce more from the land best suited to agriculture while giving sensitive areas back to nature.
“Farmers can be part of the solution,” Jon says, “as well as being really productive businesses that are adding to our communities and New Zealand.”