Digital Fences Transform Livestock Management
25 Jul 2013Fences have been used to manage livestock for centuries. The fences themselves may have seen a few updates over the years. By and large, however, there have been few advances in the system of livestock management since medieval times. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) believes that’s all about to change.
The USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is projecting that virtual fences may be the way of the future for containing cattle and other livestock. They’ve granted exclusive licensing to Krimar of Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia; a Canadian firm that offers a GPS linked virtual fence dubbed as Directional Virtual Fencing (DVF).
What’s the big deal about virtual fences? Because they aren’t physical barriers, virtual fences allow an easier rotation of the livestock from one area to another. This is a great way to control feeding grounds and patterns. Livestock can easily be moved from one area of land to another so that the ground can recover from constant grazing before the livestock returns. This goes a long way to help mitigate soil erosion, habitat encroachment, and other “green” issues ranchers consistently face.
It also allows easier isolation of one or more members from the larger herd. This is highly useful for breeding or isolating sick livestock so that the entire herd doesn’t become infected.
With fences no longer keeping the cattle within their boundaries, how will GPS devices really provide assistance? How do the devices work?
It’s a simple process, really. The cows are equipped with the GPS tracking devices, which are mounted in their ears. These devices deliver audio stimuli that prod them back toward their virtual boundaries.
The animals are not harmed by the stimuli which can be a human voice or warning siren. The volume can be raised or lower as needed to keep animals moving in the right directions.
Additionally, ranchers can track the animals’ movements, individually or as a group, at any time with their computers. They can also use their computers to change where the locations where their livestock are prompted to go. It’s a whole new type of cattle drive.
The beauty of the system is that it frees up valuable, and expensive time, for ranchers. If cattle can be virtually urged to move to lusher feeding areas, then ranchers can hire fewer laborers and use them for more impactful purposes on the ranch. Over time, this can help ranchers earn bigger profits and perhaps lead to lower cattle prices.
Of course, these things are a long way off. Ranchers must first learn to trust the system. It’s going to be a tough sale to get ranchers to turn their backs on a system that has worked for centuries in favor of one that is virtually untested. For now, however, the possibilities of this use of GPS tracking technology are intriguing at the very least.
Here’s a video describing this “farming of the future” technology.
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