Dairy Turns to Automation as Labor Pressures Grow

A $100mn funding round for Halter shows how digital tools are becoming central to dairy farms facing worker shortages and higher costs

9 Feb 2026

Investment in livestock automation is accelerating as dairy farmers look for ways to cope with persistent labour shortages and rising operating costs, pushing digital tools from the margins into the core of farm operations.

The trend was underscored by a recent $100mn funding round for Halter, a New Zealand-based agricultural technology company, valuing the business at more than $1bn. The deal reflects investor confidence that automation is becoming essential infrastructure for dairy producers rather than a discretionary upgrade.

Across major dairy regions, farms are struggling to recruit and retain workers while facing higher input costs. As a result, producers are reassessing how quickly technology can be adopted without disrupting established routines. For many, the debate has shifted from whether automation is necessary to how rapidly it can be integrated.

Halter’s system replaces physical fencing with virtual boundaries, using GPS-enabled collars to guide cattle through wireless signals. Farmers can manage grazing patterns remotely, reducing the need for manual labour and offering more detailed data on herd movement and behaviour. Supporters argue that this allows farms to operate with smaller teams while improving oversight of animal health and pasture use.

“This is about giving farmers control back,” founder Craig Piggott has said, citing the strain caused by long working hours and chronic staff shortages. The ability to manage larger herds with fewer people is seen as particularly valuable in regions where labour constraints are expected to persist.

The company’s growth mirrors a wider shift across the dairy sector. Large agricultural equipment groups have increasingly embedded digital and automated tools into products ranging from milking systems to herd monitoring, part of a broader move towards data-driven livestock management.

Investors see these technologies as having lasting value. Digital systems can improve over time as more data is collected, helping farmers make better decisions on productivity, animal welfare and land use. Early adopters may gain an advantage as competition tightens.

Barriers remain, including high upfront costs, patchy connectivity in rural areas and concerns over data ownership. Even so, the scale of recent investment suggests automation will play a growing role in how modern dairy farms operate.