2025 has been a landmark year for Nofence. After closing its recent Series B funding round with $35 million raised, the company is continuing to be used by more and more U.S. producers, building on the experiences of pilot farmers like Molly Kroiz.
At Georges Mill Farm in Loudoun County, Virginia, Molly and her husband are raising goats on land that's been in the family since the 1780s. They represent the eighth generation to live on the property and are the first in several generations to farm it directly. In 2011, the couple returned to the farm with a plan to start a seasonal goat dairy operation. With the help of Nofence, what began with just five managed acres has grown into a 90-acre rotational grazing operation, which also includes a burgeoning agritourism business.
The journey came with challenges. As Molly explains, "because the farm had mainly been hayed and there hadn't been any livestock on the property in a long time, except for horses, there was basically never a good time to decide on permanent fencing."
Goats are notoriously difficult to contain, which made a lack of permanent fencing even more challenging. For many years, Georges Mill relied on portable polywire fencing to keep their herd in place. Adding to the challenge, because they milk daily, every paddock also required a fenced path to and from the barn.
"Permanent fencing is wicked expensive," says Molly. "So for a decade, we used portable fencing, primarily poly wire." This became a time-consuming responsibility for the Kroiz family. "It was pretty much my husband's full-time job to put up and take down fences… 20 to 30 hours a week," recalls Molly.
While Nofence collars became fully available for U.S. commercial release in January 2025, the path to that milestone was paved by early adopters like Molly Kroiz, who had been following the technology for years.
Molly had heard about virtual fencing in a farming Facebook group many years ago and stayed on the lookout for opportunities from that point forward.
She was enthusiastic about the technology and emailed frequently to inquire about when it would be available for trial in the U.S. In short order, Molly became one of the first of around 45 total U.S. farmers to pilot Nofence collars around the country.
The results spoke for themselves: "We were kind of hoping they'd be at least as effective as fencing. We were pleasantly surprised. They actually work better," Molly boasts.
Her experience is one of a growing trend in the U.S., where more and more American farmers are turning to Nofence.
After adopting virtual fencing, Georges Mill saw immediate reductions in fencing costs and hours of labor. Molly was also pleasantly surprised at her goats' behavior and how it improved after installing Nofence collars. "With Nofence, [the goats] learn fast and the system gives more consistent feedback than our old fences."
Her experience helped validate the product in new environments and species, providing insights that helped solidify a successful round of Series B funding.
The collars use a sequence of audio cues to alert animals as they approach a virtual boundary. If an animal continues past the set limit, a mild electric pulse is delivered as a last resort to reinforce the boundary. Over time, the goats at Georges Mill began responding to the audio signals coming from other collars in the herd, not just their own. Molly was particularly impressed with this aspect: "Now the whole herd will shift when one collar makes a sound. It's fascinating from a behavior perspective."
With Nofence in place, the Kroizes have seen immediate benefits across their personal and professional lives. "It changed everything for my husband. Now he's building things, fixing things. This is stuff that he's way more qualified to do than walk around reeling up fence wire."
Additionally, grazing rotations became more agile. Boundaries could be adjusted quickly and remotely from the Nofence app, improving grazing strategies and reducing the labor-intensive tasks of putting up, moving, and maintaining fences. With this agility came free time and peace of mind. "We can go out of town and manage things remotely. That just wasn't possible before!" says Molly.
The farm's proximity to large metro areas around Washington, D.C. and the rest of the East Coast makes Georges Mill an intriguing and accessible destination. "We had a whole busload of congressional staffers—city slickers—out here. No fences, just goats. They had a great time."
"We've gone from 20–30 hours of fencing a week to maybe 10," Molly says. The hours saved through Nofence's virtual fencing have allowed Georges Mill to focus more on agritourism, improving the experience and boosting revenue. "We do spring events with baby goats and open farm weekends," explains Molly. "It's so much easier with Nofence—no gates, no wires. People can just walk into the field."
Safety has improved, too. "We've had cherry trees fall, and cherry is toxic to goats when wilted. Instead of hauling them back to the barn, I just set a virtual exclusion zone."
As Nofence continues to expand in the U.S. and more American producers tap into the benefits the collars provide, interest in virtual fencing continues to grow, especially among new and small-scale farmers. "We've hosted NRCS, extension agents, and field days. Friends with smaller herds have bought collars. There's definitely interest."
"If we (in Virginia) could get cost-share approval, it would open this up for so many more people. It's a great fit for leased land, where permanent fencing doesn't make sense."
The shift away from daily chores caused by physical fencing has brought newfound freedom, creativity, and time to focus on what truly matters: healthy land, happy animals, and a thriving community around the farm.
By embracing virtual fencing, the Kroizes are laying the groundwork for the ninth generation of Georges Mill family farmers. What began as an ambitious return to ancestral land has evolved into a model for how modern technology can enhance traditional stewardship.
As some of the earliest American Nofence users, Molly and her husband are reimagining what is possible for their farm and business, while showing others how to do the same.
Molly’s success illustrates the growing interest of American producers in what Nofence offers. With the company’s recent $35 million investment announced from its Series B close, Nofence continues scaling its presence nationwide, building on the insights of pilot users like Georges Mill to deliver flexible, data-driven solutions for producers of all sizes.
For producers like Molly, Nofence is helping lay the path for America’s next generation of farmers. The future is bright!