E-bells for insight into outfield grazing

E-bells, also known as radio bells, enable farmers to monitor the summer adventures of their sheep. Marit Mjøen Solem is both a sheep farmer and the managing director of the company FindMy, which produces e-bells. She explains that e-bells offer valuable information about where the sheep spend their vacation.

"Sheep are creatures of habit. Ewes with adult daughters and lambs form small family flocks that visit the same grazing areas year after year. Grazing areas are passed down from ewes to lambs for generations. Within the grazing area, weather conditions significantly influence their choice of location. E-bells also help farmers keep better track and, for example, assist sick animals," she says.

The sheep's summer holiday is, in many ways, a food journey. Analyses conducted by NIBIO show a strong correlation between pasture quality and sheep grazing, but there can be significant individual differences. If the e-bells indicate that family flocks are staying in poorer parts of the grazing area, farmers can use salt licks or implement other measures to guide the sheep to the best areas.

Michael Angeloff has conducted analyses comparing e-bell data with results from vegetation mapping. His focus is on how the various data sources about sheep and grazing quality can contribute to increased knowledge about outfield grazing.

"E-bell data opens up an entirely new field of research. Now we can study the behaviour of freely roaming animals. In addition to being a useful tool for livestock owners, e-bells provide knowledge that can help solve challenges related to outfield grazing," he says.