Being able to move your animals without even leaving your bed might sound like a dream come true for many graziers, but is virtual fencing right for your operation?

Freelance Writer
Boylen is a freelance writer based in northeast Iowa.

Virtual fencing allows graziers to control livestock placement and movement without physical fences. Livestock wear collars that communicate with GPS and cell towers, and the virtual fence is created by the farmer or rancher on a phone app. The app shows satellite imagery and “fences” can be created by drawing on screen with your fingertip.

The collars emit a series of beeps or tones when they reach the boundary of the virtual fence, and if the animals pass the boundary they receive a pulse. Animals learn the cues quickly and respond to auditory clues.

Monte Bottens has a beef operation near Cambridge, Illinois. One of his cows was likely the first American animal with a virtual fence collar. After a year of using the virtual fence, Bottens is sold on the idea and plans on using it on his entire herd once it is available.

“It unlocks amazing management,” Bottens says. “You can 'fence' ponds, timbers and gullies in seconds. You can exclude areas where forage is thin, there is no need to connect to the perimeter for power, and you can have paddocks in irregular shapes and sizes."

Advertisement

Although there is an upfront cost for the collars and software, he says, “The management possibilities are pure profit.”

In addition to the obvious labor savings from moving fences, other advantages of a virtual fencing system include:

  • Eliminates wildlife interacting with wire fencing
  • Livestock can be excluded from certain areas in the pasture such as where there are tree saplings, burned areas or areas that are too wet 
  • Ability to graze difficult terrain/marginal lands which are notoriously hard to fence 
  • Easier to implement regenerative grazing; labor is the largest barrier to frequent animal moves, which leads to greater profitability 
  • Monitor individual animals  
  • Remote control of virtual fences means fences can be set up, customized or removed at any time, from anywhere
  • Paddocks can be any shape or size and don't need to be connected to a perimeter fence/supply
  • If an animal escapes the perimeter, the app will alert you not only that it is on the loose, but also where it is located. A fence can be “dropped” around the animal so it stays safe until it is located

Bottens says, “I’d rather get an alert from my phone saying there is a cow out than a call from the sheriff.”

Virtual fencing is not intended to replace all physical fencing, and in high-liability areas such as along busy roads, a physical perimeter fence is recommended.  

Although Bottens says he’s happy with the performance of a virtual fence on his farm, it’s important to be realistic about animal behavior. “If you have a prime alfalfa bale nearby or a mother wants to find her calf, it’s not going to keep them out.”

Disadvantages of a virtual fence system include:

  • Involves collar installation, and when used on younger stock, collar size needs to be adjusted every few months
  • Relies on functional technology
  • The upfront cost of implementation

Meghan Filbert, adoption program manager for the virtual fencing company NoFence, says the technology uses cell towers, and that a strong cell signal is not necessary throughout all of an operation’s pastures. “The collars connect to the cell network to send their positions and statuses to your app. If you can typically receive a phone call or send a text message in your pasture, NoFence will likely work for you.”

In areas where there is no cellphone coverage, some virtual fencing technology likely will not work, but satellite technology will hopefully change that in the near future. 

Some other virtual fencing companies use their own towers and base stations, which makes virtual fencing viable in areas with little to no cell service. Individual graziers will need to research what type of system will work with their setup.

Filbert says virtual fencing is excellent for managed grazing. “You can alter grazing patterns from day to day or even hour to hour, enabling animals to move regularly to new pastures as nature intended. Grazing events for each area are recorded in the app, helping you to ensure optimum plant recovery periods are achieved. These benefits mean improved pasture productivity and animal performance without artificial inputs. By optimizing grazing land potential in this way, it may be possible to increase herd size and maximize profitability while benefiting soil health.”

Bottens notes graziers may have to change their pasture management to get the biggest benefits. “If you don’t change to more intensive moving, then you may not gain the benefit of increased forage and quality that pays for the units.”

Filbert adds, “Good grazing management is crucial to give the soil optimal access to water, nutrients and light. Those who invest in the soil by facilitating grazing at optimal plant height with shorter grazing periods and good regrowth opportunities for grass will increase profitability in the long run."

The USDA Climate Hub website actually lists virtual fencing as a tool that can be used to help deal with climate change. Virtual fencing can help prevent overgrazing, therefore preventing erosion. “While ranchers with traditional fences can also practice managed grazing, it requires much more planning and labor, and animal movements are limited to pastures defined by permanent fence boundaries. Virtual fencing allows managers to frequently and efficiently move livestock from one pasture to the next and to define new within-pasture boundaries.”

Bottens believes that virtual fencing will help bring livestock back to the land. “Feedlots exist because they are the most economical way to produce meat. I believe technology can enable us to bring livestock back to the land.”

For operations that already have invested in physical fencing infrastructure, an analysis of your fencing labor might be the deciding factor if virtual fencing is a good choice for your operation. Another consideration might be if virtual fencing will allow grazing on land that was previously unavailable due to rough terrain, lacks fencing, if far from home, floods, etc.

For operations that have not grazed before and don’t already have fences and paddocks set up, virtual fences can be a good option since physical fence can cost upward of $12,000 to $20,000 a mile.

Different virtual fencing companies price collars and systems differently. Some lease equipment and others sell collars with a warranty. Some only work with large operations with large animals, and others accommodate smaller animals such as goats and sheep. Filbert says NoFence collars are purchased for $299 for cattle and $199 each for sheep and goats, and they are expected to last five to 10 years. There is also a subscription fee based on the number of collars. Some companies have this as an annual fee, and others bill monthly so your subscription can be paused in months animals are not grazing.