NoFence launches N3 collar for precision livestock management

Norwegian agtech company NoFence launched its third-generation cattle collar, the N3, on September 9, 2026, expanding the device from a virtual fencing tool into a broader precision livestock management platform that adds grazing data, reproductive monitoring and herd health tracking, the company said. NoFence, founded in 2011 in Batnfjordsøra, Norway, is headquartered in Molde and operates in Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain and the United States.

What the N3 collar does

The N3 collar contains cattle inside farmer-defined virtual paddocks using an audio warning followed by a mild electric pulse if the animal continues toward the boundary, the core mechanism behind NoFence’s original product. The company reports a 99.7% containment rate as herds learn to respond to the collars, and says 96% of boundary interactions after training are resolved with sound alone, without a pulse. Beyond containment, the N3 now generates automated grazing reports on stocking density, herd size and grazing duration, tracks heat cycles and calving alerts, and monitors rumination and activity, according to NoFence.

CEO Joachim Kähler said the expansion reflects customer demand beyond fencing: “Virtual fencing was our beginning, but it was our customers who showed us what should come next.” VP Product Savina Velkova said the collar shifts livestock management away from periodic visual checks: “Livestock management tends to be dependent on visual observations… N3 changes this: the collar monitors every animal continuously.”

Connectivity and rollout

NoFence describes the N3 as offering “triple-layer connectivity” combining cellular networks (AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon in the US), the company’s proprietary collar-to-collar mesh network HerdNet, and satellite connectivity. Satellite connectivity is not yet active: NoFence’s own product page states satellite coverage “will be available on the new Nofence cattle collar (N3) in spring 2027.” The N3 carries a 10-year warranty.

James Waight, who grazes 450 Angus cattle across 8,000 acres on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, UK, is using the collar and described consolidating previously separate checks into one app: “Before, I’d check one thing for where the herd was, another for which cows needed attention, and drive out to see if the pasture was ready. With N3, it’s all in the same app.”

Source: NoFence, product specifications, September 2026.

Funding and scale

NoFence closed a Series B round of more than 35 million dollars (30 million euros) in September 2025, which the company describes as Europe’s largest agtech funding round of 2025 – a company characterization repeated by trade press but not independently ranked against other 2025 European agtech deals in the sources reviewed for this article. NoFence has previously said it has more than 200,000 collars deployed and has expanded into Sweden.

Virtual fencing technology has faced some regulatory and welfare scrutiny. The UK’s Animal Welfare Committee, a government advisory body, noted in a 2022 opinion that a small number of individual animals may not adapt well to virtual fencing systems. NoFence has previously responded publicly to welfare concerns raised about the technology as its collar network has grown.

The N3 launch follows other advances in precision agriculture technology using aerial and sensor data, as farms increasingly combine wearable and remote-sensing tools to track livestock and land conditions without manual inspection.

Background

NoFence was founded in 2011 by Oscar Hovde and has grown from a single-product virtual fencing company into a broader precision livestock platform provider. The company’s leadership team includes CFO Lars Kvaalen, CCO Marielle Hvide, CPTO Jeff Glasson, COO Axel Lindnér and Managing Director US Alex Bell. Since its 2025 Series B, the company has continued expanding across Europe and the United States, with the N3 collar marking its shift from a single-purpose containment device toward a data platform covering grazing, health and reproductive management. The N3’s phased satellite rollout, planned for spring 2027, is intended to extend the collar’s reach to cattle grazing in areas without cellular coverage.

Sources: AgNavigator; AgFunderNews; NoFence

Featured image: photo by Robert So on Pexels (free Pexels license).

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Figen Sekin

I specialize in sustainability education, curriculum co-creation, and early-stage project strategy. At WINSS, I craft articles on sustainability, transformative AI, and related topics. When I’m not writing, you’ll find me chasing the perfect sushi roll, exploring cities around the globe, or unwinding with my dog Puffy — the world’s most loyal sidekick.