{"id":642890,"date":"2026-04-28T09:01:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T07:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=642890"},"modified":"2026-04-28T09:01:50","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T07:01:50","slug":"platform-founded-in-1999-uses-satellite-constellations-to-save-south-african-farmers-from-rampant-livestock-theft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/internet-of-things\/642890-platform-founded-in-1999-uses-satellite-constellations-to-save-south-african-farmers-from-rampant-livestock-theft.html","title":{"rendered":"Platform founded in 1999 uses satellite constellations to save South African farmers from rampant livestock theft"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

FarmRanger, a digital platform that tracks livestock using animal-worn collars, was founded by a Western Cape farmer who became frustrated by the lack of technology he needed to protect his livestock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now farmers across the country use the platform to protect their livestock from rampant theft and predation, with an app to track animal movement and satellite services to reach remote areas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

FarmRanger has been in operation since 1999, when it emerged from the ETSE Electronics stable. It was later folded into the Alphawave Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AlphaWave specialises in satellite electronics, data science, and specialised software. FarmRanger is one of its most successful companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2025 alone, 36,109 cases of livestock theft were reported, resulting in the theft<\/a> of over 152,000 animals. Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Eastern Cape were the hardest-hit provinces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the late 90s, Philip L\u00f6tter, a farmer from Caledon in the Western Cape, struggled with livestock theft \u2014 a problem shared with other farmers in the province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the FarmRanger website, L\u00f6tter sought a solution that would alert him when his herd was in distress or behaving abnormally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“At the time, options were limited to regular patrol groups or personally guarding the animals overnight, with little success \u2014 especially during full moon nights when theft was more likely to occur,” the company said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“He envisioned a device that could detect abnormal herd activity in real-time and empower farmers to fight back against the growing problem of stock theft and predator attacks.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first prototype of the FarmRanger device was born at Stellenbosch University’s Engineering Faculty \u2014 a device strapped to a sheep’s foot to monitor movement patterns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later evolutions would see a device designed to be worn across the chest, and then finally across the neck as a collar. The final concept was refined by electronic engineer Dr Johann de Swardt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

L\u00f6tter and De Swardt remain with the company to this day, as De Swardt is now the CEO of FarmRanger, and L\u00f6tter is heading client services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From chest-mounted devices to satellite tracking collars<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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FarmRanger’s satellite tracking collar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

“With nearly three million animals under our protection across South Africa and an expanding global footprint, FarmRanger continues to be a trusted partner in livestock security,” the company said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, the company launched satellite tracking collars that work in areas where there is no cellular coverage. Previously, FarmRanger’s collars only worked with cellular connectivity to transmit data. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These collars are powered by the Iridium Satellite constellation, a low Earth-orbit constellation operated by the United States company Iridium Communications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are designed to continue operating under any conditions, transmit data via Iridium satellites, and stay online with mounted solar panels for supplemental charging. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Owners will receive instant alarm calls to their mobile devices during potential threats or predator incidents. Live communication works as long as the collars are in the open (not under a roof).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Free State farmer Christof Botha said in 2025 that he can no longer farm without the technology. His farm is located on the border of Lesotho, where he rears cattle and sheep. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After onboarding, Botha said that the product paid for itself as he was almost immediately alerted that someone was attempting to steal his sheep. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I responded to the alert notifications and saw six people chasing my sheep. The thieves were caught and handed over to the police,” Botha stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Financial losses from stock theft are devastating to farmers. Farmer Hennie Roos explained that the financial losses go beyond the theft and include income lost on future offspring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In one instance, FarmRanger alerted him to a theft of his livestock. “This time 25 ewes were taken, at an average price of R2,200 per sheep; the direct financial damage would have exceeded R50,000.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This excludes the financial loss of the wool as well as future income from lambs.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that his farm’s location near the Sandveld Nature Reserve makes it a lucrative target for theft. In the past, each incident had cost him between R25,000 and R40,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

More images of FarmRanger<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Initial FarmRanger tracker design. The device was mounted on the chest of the animal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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FarmRanger satellite coverage map<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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FarmRanger staff<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FarmRanger uses satellite constellations to track livestock in real-time, saving farmers in South Africa millions of rands.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341213,"featured_media":642895,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50977],"tags":[104735,104764,104766,104763,104765,104768,104767,8299],"class_list":["post-642890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-internet-of-things","tag-alphawave","tag-christof-botha","tag-etse-electronics","tag-farmranger","tag-hennie-roos","tag-johann-de-swardt","tag-philip-lotter","tag-satellite"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642890"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341213"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=642890"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":643275,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642890\/revisions\/643275"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/642895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=642890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=642890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=642890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}