Monil, a Norwegian agtech pioneer, has officially launched its Monil Cattle Collar in the U.S. Designed to withstand the realities of everyday ranching, the system allows American cattle producers to transition to managed rotational grazing using simple virtual fences controlled entirely from a smartphone.
Based in Kansas City, Mo., Monil is initially focusing its rollout in the Midwest. The company says it is establishing a dedicated, boots-on-the-ground farmer success team to provide localized support to U.S. cattle operations.
“When we looked at the U.S., we saw an industry where everyday cattle operations make up the backbone of American agriculture, yet are too often overlooked when new technology reaches the market,” says Torstein Nesse, Monil chief executive officer. “Monil was built to change that by making virtual fencing simple, practical, and within reach for more producers. If we can help make farming easier now, we can help make it a more attractive future for the next generation.”
How the Monil Virtual Fencing System Works
Monil replaces expensive physical cross-fencing with GPS-enabled collars and a mobile app:
- Draw Boundaries: Producers use the Monil app to map out paddocks, exclusion zones and pasture rotations.
- Audio Cues: As cattle approach a virtual boundary, the collar plays a directional audio tone that gets louder if they keep going. Most animals learn to turn back within a few days.
- Gentle Stimulus: If an animal ignores the sound cue, the collar emits a safe, low-level electrical pulse, encouraging them to redirect.
Key Product Specifications and Technical Information
To help compare technology, here are the core specs of the Monil Cattle Collar:
- Collar Weight: 2.2 lb. According to Monil, it’s the lightest cattle collar on the market.
- Infrastructure Needed: Zero. The system runs on existing cellular networks (LTE-M/NB-IoT) with no towers or base stations required.
- Battery & Power: Powered by top-mounted solar panels designed to keep collars charged all grazing season long.
- Minimum Order: Start with as few as six collars.
- Warranty: Five-year.
- Connectivity: GNSS positioning (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou) paired with 4G cellular IoT.
What Are the Collar’s Core Benefits?
According to the product announcement, there are three key benefits:
1. Maximize Forage and Reduce Feed Costs
Manual rotational grazing requires building and maintaining miles of physical cross-fencing or temporary polywire. Monil eliminates this labor. Producers can change grazing patterns with a few taps on a screen, allowing them to extend grazing seasons, make better use of cover crops and safely graze ecologically sensitive areas without permanent infrastructure.
2. Scale From Six Collars to Large Herds
Unlike platforms that force producers into rigid, massive system layouts, Monil’s business model is flexible. Ranchers pay only for the collars actively in use under a straightforward subscription model. This allows family farms to test virtual fencing with a small group of cattle before scaling up.
3. Real-Time Herd Insights and Health Monitoring
Monil is a dual-purpose tool, combining virtual containment with active herd monitoring. Sensors on the collar track:
- Real-time GPS location
- Daily activity levels
- Rumination data to detect heat cycles and oncoming illnesses
Because Monil attaches historical health data to the animal rather than the collar hardware itself, a cow’s complete life record stays intact even if collars are swapped.
Proven Performance: By the Numbers
Since 2022, Monil has shipped tens of thousands of collars across four markets, enabling more than 100 million grazing hours across Europe. Monil’s U.S. base of operations is in Kansas City, Mo.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What happens if a cow escapes the virtual fence?
If an animal crosses the boundary and ignores three successive audio and electrical signals, the collar stops the stimulus to protect the animal and immediately sends a high-priority push notification to the farmer’s phone.
Do I need cell service for Monil to work?
Yes. As long as there is basic mobile coverage (even one bar of signal), the collars can communicate with the cloud and sync with your app. No on-farm base stations or Wi-Fi towers are needed.
How do I get started or request a demo?
Producers can learn more, calculate their herd pricing, or schedule a physical demonstration by visiting monil.com/us.
