Driefontein’s digital systems: How Gallagher strengthens Breede Farming
by Natasha Pretorius
In Middelburg, the Breede brothers run the Driefontein farm, which was founded by their father 50 years ago. Driefontein is not just a home, it’s a legacy, one that must be protected for generations to come.
Here, Naas Breede and his two brothers farm with maize and soya and they also have commercial breeding cows. In addition, they run their own feedlot and slaughterhouse.
To keep such a remarkable operation going, you need the support of a company that cares as much about your farm as you do. That’s why the Breede family believes in Gallagher’s security and animal management products.
Naas says they first encountered Gallagher’s strip grazing systems at NAMPO 15 years ago. This system is used in the summer to implement strip grazing in their fields.
When Naas went on a weekend hunting trip with a friend, he was impressed with the electric fence on the hunting farm. His friend then referred him to one of Gallagher’s suppliers. “The electric fence we had before almost never worked.
“Since Danie came to install the Gallagher fence, we haven’t had any problems. No false alarms, no lightning bolts have knocked it out and it hasn’t gone down yet,” says Naas.
They installed this fence around the farmhouse and the silos. Naas says the system is very convenient for him because he can do everything on his phone. He lives in town, and his brother-in-law lives on the farm. The Gallagher system gives him peace of mind because he knows that he can simply call his brother-in-law when he receives an alarm and can quickly sort out any crises.
On Driefontein, the brothers also switched to Gallagher’s EID tag readers about two weeks ago and have also installed two
5 000 kg scales from Gallagher. “We bought the EID tags for record-keeping at the feedlot because they are user-friendly and accurate,” says Naas.
While he has used other products before, Naas points out that Gallagher’s products are much easier for the workers to use. With Gallagher’s system, you reduce the paperwork, and less human input means fewer human errors that could slip through.
This system provides Naas and his team with the accuracy and simplicity they need to run the feedlot successfully.
Naas also says that he replaced two other scales with Gallagher’s weigh scales because they are strong and work with the tag system.
“We installed them about two weeks ago and we have already weighed 300 cattle with the scales. We are very happy with Gallagher’s products.”
According to Naas, they are so impressed with Gallagher’s products that they are looking into implementing more of these products on the farm in the future.
And he is particularly curious about Gallagher’s geofencing.
Naas says he would happily recommend Gallagher’s products to any of his neighbours or other farmers – for much-needed peace of mind and quality that lasts.