From New Zealand to US Ranches: Halter Founder & CEO Craig Piggott on the Future of Virtual Fencing

Farmers and ranchers feed the world, and it’s the biggest job on earth. At Halter, we believe technology can make that job easier, more productive, and more sustainable.

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Our Founder and CEO, Craig Piggott, grew up on a dairy farm in New Zealand and knows firsthand the challenges producers face. Today, he’s leading Halter’s expansion into the United States, bringing virtual fencing technology to ranchers across the states.

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We sat down with Craig to talk about what sets Halter apart, what he’s learned from ranchers here in the US, and why he believes the future of ranching is brighter than ever.

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1. Craig, can you share a bit about your background and what led you to start Halter?

I grew up on a dairy farm in the Waikato in New Zealand. Farming is what I’ve known my whole life. After university I ended up working at Rocket Lab, building satellites. It was exciting work, but I kept thinking about farming. It’s in my blood, and I wanted to use what I’d learned to help farmers like my family.

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In 2016 I left Rocket Lab and started Halter. Pete Beck, my old boss, backed me early on and joined as our first board member. At the start it was just a few of us trying to figure things out, and those early days were tough. Nine years on, I’m proud of what the team’s built so far, and grateful for the support from farmers and ranchers who believed in us early on.

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2. For someone who hasn’t heard of Halter before, how would you describe what we do?

Halter helps you manage your cattle with virtual fencing. Each animal is fitted with a solar-powered collar that connects to an app on your phone. The collars use sound and vibration cues that cattle are trained to understand, so you can fence and move them wherever you need, straight from the app. Sound cues give animals directional guidance left and right, and the vibration cues indicate the correct direction for the animal.

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What you get from using Halter is freedom. You can set up a break or move a herd in seconds. You can rotationally graze without the labor and hassle of shifting fences. It means you can use your land more efficiently too, growing more grass, running more stock, and taking better care of your pastures.

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Our goal is simple; we want to help ranchers be more productive and more sustainable. That’s been the mission since day one.

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Halter started in New Zealand and today there are over 500,000 cattle wearing our collars across New Zealand, Australia, and now the United States. We launched into the US in August 2024 and now have ranches in 18 different states using Halter. More are coming on board every month, which is exciting to see.

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We wouldn’t be here without the ranchers who were willing to give us a go early on, and I’m really grateful for that. We’re still just getting started, and I’m excited to see where we can take it from here.

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3. From what you’ve seen so far, what are the biggest benefits virtual fencing brings to ranchers here in the US?

The first one that comes up is labor. Gathering cattle and fixing fences takes hours out of every day. With Halter, you can do all that from your phone, which saves a huge amount of time. Ranchers often tell us it gives them back hours they can spend with their families, which is pretty special.

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Another big one is how you use your land. You can set up a break in seconds and shift your herd whenever you need. That means better use of grass, healthier pastures, and better performance from your cattle. We’ve seen ranchers grow more feed, lift weaning weights, and improve profitability just by being able to manage grazing more precisely.

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And then there’s flexibility. If it rains, if it dries out, if you want to rest a pasture or keep cattle out of a sensitive area, you can do that with just a couple of taps on your phone. You’re not tied to a physical fence line anymore. That level of control is something ranchers tell us they’ve never had before.

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4. What makes Halter different from other options out there, and what are you bringing to US ranchers that they haven’t had before?

When we brought Halter over from New Zealand, we had to make sure it worked for US beef ranches. Running a ranch here is very different to running a dairy farm back home, so we built it to fit the way ranchers actually work.

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The first thing ranchers notice is how simple and precise it is. You draw a line in the app and the herd respects it, right down to a few feet. That surprises a lot of people at first, but the accuracy’s spot on.

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Another big one is reliability. Halter works the same on 100 head as it does on a thousand, and it works day in and day out. That matters when you’re running cattle on big land.

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The collars are solar-powered too, so you don’t have to worry about swapping batteries or charging them. That’s one less job on the list, and ranchers really value that.

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And the app is straightforward. If you can use a phone, you can use Halter. We didn’t want to overcomplicate it.

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At the heart of it, Halter exists to make ranching more profitable and more sustainable. That’s been our focus since day one, and it hasn’t changed. We listen closely to ranchers, and when they tell us what they need, we work hard to make those changes fast. That feedback is what keeps shaping the product.

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5. Grazing management plays a huge role in New Zealand. What lessons from there do you think are most useful for ranchers here in the US?

In New Zealand, grazing is everything. The whole system’s built around growing grass and using it well. I grew up with rotational grazing, and it’s second nature for farmers there.

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Halter was designed with that in mind. The collars let you control exactly how much pasture cattle get and when they get it. That means you can keep grass in the right growth stage, protect areas when they need a rest, all while getting more production out of the land.

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What’s interesting is that the same principles apply here in the US. The scale’s bigger and the operations look different, but grass is still the cheapest feed you’ve got. If you can manage it well, you get healthier pastures, better animal performance, and more profitability. Halter just makes that management easier.

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6. Halter has been in the US market for over a year now. How has that experience been, and how are things coming along?

It’s been really positive. Awareness of virtual fencing is still building, but the ranchers who do know about it are very keen. They’re not just curious, they’re ready to put it to work. That’s been exciting to see.

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Every month we’re seeing more interest and more ranches come on board. We’re already working with ranches in 18 states, which is encouraging this early on. The trust those early adopters have shown in us is a real privilege and something we don’t take for granted.

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We’re still just at the beginning of our journey in the US, and the opportunity here is massive.

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7. Since launching here, have there been any surprises about the US market? What kinds of challenges have you had to navigate?

Because our investors are US-based and we’ve spent a lot of time here over the last 8 years, luckily nothing has been a huge surprise so far. But, we’re still struck by the diversity of operations and the sheer scale compared to New Zealand. The ranches here are massive. You’re talking about tens of thousands of acres in some cases. Every ranch is different. The land, the weather, the way people run cattle, the labor challenges. There’s no one-size-fits-all.

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This just means we need to keep listening and learning. One of the best things about Halter is that we can upgrade the software on the collars remotely. If ranchers need something different, we can make those changes quickly and get it out to them. It means the system keeps improving without ranchers having to buy new equipment or stop what they’re doing. That’s especially important when you’re running huge herds across that much land.

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8. Virtual fencing is just the start. What other kinds of technology do you see coming that could make life easier for ranchers and better for their cattle?

Virtual fencing is right at the core. When you’re running cows on grass, how you manage that grass is really the heart of the operation. That’s why we started there.

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But that’s just the beginning. There are so many opportunities to build on top of virtual fencing and give ranchers more tools to be more productive and sustainable. Whether it’s managing pasture, supporting animal health, making more informed decisions, or even running the entire operation more efficiently, the potential’s huge.

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At Halter, we love innovation. We’ve got a team of incredibly smart people working on this every day, and we’re always looking for ways to make life easier for producers and better for their cattle. We’re only just scratching the surface of what’s possible.

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9. What do you see as the future of ranching in the US?

I think the future is about doing more with less. Ranchers are under pressure with labor, with land, with resources, and that’s not going to change. The ones who can be more efficient and more sustainable are the ones who’ll come out ahead.

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Technology will play a big role in that. Virtual fencing is just the start. Over time, I see data and insights becoming a bigger part of ranching, helping with decisions around grazing, herd health, and overall management.

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A lot of ranches here are multi-generational, and there’s a strong focus on legacy. Ranchers want to hand off their operation in better shape than they found it, both the herd and the land. That’s where technology can really help, making ranching more sustainable and giving the next generation more opportunities.

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But at the end of the day, it’ll still come down to ranchers. They know their land and their cattle better than anyone. Technology should support that knowledge, not replace it. Our job is to build tools that make it easier for them to do what they do best.

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Ranching looks different in every corner of the US, but the challenges are often the same. Producers want to do more with less, take care of their cattle, and leave the land better for the next generation.

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At Halter, our job is to build tools that make that possible. We’re grateful for the ranchers who’ve welcomed us into their operations already, and we’re excited to keep learning alongside them.