Cow Tracking Devices Compared: Which One for Your Herd?

There is no single cow tracking device that is right for everything. A tracker that is perfect on the cows you calve indoors is the wrong one for a suckler herd out on rough grazing. The useful way to choose is to understand what each device is actually good at, then match it to how you farm.

4G GPS collar

A collar with GPS and a mobile SIM. It gives a precise position and works anywhere there is mobile coverage, including off the farm, which makes it the natural choice for stock on agistment, in transit, or the few animals you watch most closely. The trade-offs are a SIM cost per animal every year, more battery drain, and no fix where there is no mobile signal.

LoRa GPS collar

The same precise GPS fix, but sent to your own gateway on the farm instead of over the mobile network. No SIM, and it works across hills and dead-zones where 4G goes dark. Ideal for key animals on a big or poorly-covered holding. It still needs gateways and the battery works harder than a light tag.

LoRa ear tag

A light, low-cost ear tag heard by your gateways. It locates to paddock level, which field a beast is in and whether it has strayed, rather than a precise pin, unless it carries a GNSS module. Because it is cheap per head and sips power, it is the practical way to track the whole herd, with collars added on the animals that need precision.

Satellite (NTN) tag

Reports via satellite, so it needs no gateway and no mobile signal at all. It suits genuinely remote or off-grid ground, and following stock off the farm. The costs are airtime per device and higher power, so it is usually best on a subset of animals or set to report only when one strays.

Bluetooth tag, for housed cattle

GPS does not work under a roof, so housed cattle wear a Bluetooth tag that reports to a gateway in or near the shed. You see which pen or building each cow is in, and spot one that has stopped moving or feeding. When the herd goes back out, the same account switches to the GPS map.

How to choose for your herd

• Whole suckler herd on grass, poor signal: LoRa ear tags across the herd, a few collars on key cows.
• Remote or off-grid ground: add satellite on selected animals for off-farm reach.
• Dairy or cattle housed over winter: Bluetooth tags in the sheds, GPS out at grass, one account.
• A handful of high-value or closely-watched animals: 4G or LoRa GPS collars for a precise live fix.

For the full cost picture see our guide to what cattle tracking costs, and for the technologies behind these devices, our tracker comparison. Or just tell us about your herd and we will recommend the mix.