RFID is well known by cattle owners with the NLIS (National Livestock Identification System) tag. However, RFID can be used for other infield AgTech solutions in addition to animal tags.
Those that have experienced using NLIS RFID tags (in cattle) may have the perception that RFID solutions are very limited in Agiculture. However there are a range of different RFID technologies, each with their pros and cons.
The three types of RFID are:
- Low frequency RFID tags: 30 KHz to 300 KHz. High-frequency (HF) RFID tags: 3 to 30 MHz.
- Ultra high frequency (UHF) RFID tags: 300 MHz to 3GHz.
Tags can also be:
- Active (always emitting data)
- Passive (only emit when near a reader) and Semi-passive RFID tags
Low frequency RFID tags have slower read rates and shorter read ranges than UHF or HF, but they’re less susceptible to interference by liquids and metals because they have a longer wavelength. This is the technology that has underpinned cattle NLIS tags in Australia.
Companies, such as AgriScan (Australia) have developed a range of UHF RFID ear tags that enable mass readings of ‘mob’ tags over a large read range (for example across an open gate). Refer to the video below labelled “UHF RFID tags” for an example of UHF livestock tags in action.