Virtual Fences

When the Europeans came to America and started to develop it, agriculture was one
of the first necessities for survival. With agriculture came crops and livestock. To prevent
these livestock from wandering off or going onto other peoples land, fences were built. The
fences also helped an individual claim a certain area of land for themselves. The boundaries
that were created helped to emphasize the belief in private ownership that the Europeans
brought over with them. Building the fences was time consuming and labor intensive. A lot
of wood was required and had to be split and chopped to the shape and length that was
needed to build a quality fence was not easy. Not only that, but the repairs that were needed
on a regular basis took time and labor as well. Even with this, there were vast distances
covered due to the constant discovery of new land and settlements pushing further west.
With this westward settlement, came the prairie. In the prairie there wasnt access to
cheap wood to build the split-rail fences that they had been constructing. An invention by
Joseph Glidden in 1874 came at a very convenient time for them (Twilley, 2015). The
invention of barbed wire gave the settlers the ability to go further distances with less wood
required. They could enclose more space and claim larger tracts of land for themselves to
raise livestock and crops on. It built a framework on the landscape and brought new food
staples to the settlers diets. They could raise cattle, goats, sheep, and other livestock easier
and have a more reliable source for meat, milk, and many other resources. In essence, the
fences that were built redefined the diet of Americans.
Today fences are just as, if not more important than they were when the settlers were
claiming land for themselves and building a country of their own. They built a framework
that people after them built on and continues to grow every day. More and more things are
being fenced off. Fences are built between neighbors yards in towns and cities. They block
off construction sites that are in the process of being built. Even exotic animals are fenced in

for viewing by tourists. Its hard to drive down the highway and not see a fence along-side it
in the Midwestern United States. Fences are everywhere.
With the obvious importance that fences have and the amount of land they cover,
there have been many people interested in advancing the materials and techniques used to
build them since the settlers time. Their invention of barbed wire is still used to this day
along with many other types of fences depending on the circumstances encountered. Along
with barbed wire, there are now woven wire, high tensile, electric, pipe, and many other
types of fences used in different situations.
One place where the importance of fences is especially noted is in rotational grazing
systems. This is when pastures are subdivided into paddocks and livestock are moved from
one paddock to another. The time that the resting paddock has without pressure from
livestock gives it a chance to rejuvenate. Forage crops can renew energy reserves, deepen
their root system, and lead to long term maximum production from the plants (Undersander,
2002).The animals are healthier because of fresh space they have and their manure is more
evenly distributed. The thing that comes along with this is building enough fences to enclose
all of the different paddocks that a landowner has. It can range from anywhere from two to
thirty or more paddocks (Undersander, 2002). The larger number of paddocks has been
shown to be more beneficial as well. With such a large amount of paddocks that can be
used, there is going to have to be a lot of fences built.
Such a large amount of fences that need built is going to come with a price tag. A
woven wire fence will have a price of around $1,500 per quarter mile when it has a single
strand of barbed wire and alternates between wooden and metal posts (Maxwell, 2006 ). It
also comes with about 40 hours of labor. A barbed wire fence like the settlers became
accustomed to after it was invented could run around $1,100 per quarter mile with either
three or four strands at various spacing and alternating between wooden and metal posts
(Maxwell, 2006 ). Also, while it is being built it is easy to cut yourself with the barbs. It has a
life expectancy of around 20 years if it is maintained properly (Maxwell, 2006 ). A cheaper

option is high-tensile electric fence which can run about $700 per quarter mile. Is good for
containing about any livestock but it is the most technically complex fence (Maxwell, 2006 ).
All of these come with labor and maintenance as well as the price tag for the supplies to
build them. The animals that they contain will find a way through them, or the fence will be
impacted by the elements and will need regular maintenance. Building these fences will
require a lot of time invested by the farmer and the people that help him as well.
What if there was another way to do this without building all of the miles of fences
that were a physical barrier to the livestock? What if there was a way that was less intrusive
and required less time going to the field to do maintenance? The answer to this could be
virtual fences. Weve all heard about the dog fences that are common around our
neighborhoods. They have an underground wire around the perimeter and the dog has a
specialized collar that sends a shock when the dog is too close. Eventually the dog learns
where he or she is not supposed to cross. It can be a very effective tool that doesnt require
the presence of an actual fence around your yard.
The idea of putting an underground wire around the perimeter of a pasture for
livestock in a grazing system could seem overwhelming. All of the time and money that it
would require could make it less feasible. The maintenance and troubleshooting that would
go along with having that large amount of wires and technology needed to enclose the
amount of land used by livestock would be astounding. Even with the amount of resources
that would be needed for this type of system, it was tested on cattle at Vermont Technical
College (Voth, 2014). The cattle were outfitted with shock collars that would beep when they
came close to the boundaries and shocked if they crossed it. It was shown that older calves
would test the boundaries and found out that if they made it across quickly that they would
only receive a minimal shock (Voth, 2014). Once they got far enough away from the
boundary they were free from all shocks and beeps. They could range freely wherever they
felt like going and it was the owners problem to get them back in the area that they were
supposed to stay in. This apparently wasnt the answer. There was something else that was

needed. Something that could effectively replace a physical fence type of boundary and do
it well enough that the animals didnt get past the boundaries.
Thats where Dr. Dean Anderson came in. Dr. Anderson was a Research Animal
Scientist when with US Department of Agriculture. He was based at the Jordana
Experimental Range in New Mexico (Leonard, 2006). Dr. Anderson used the summation of
thirty years of research on animal behavior and the availability of navigation systems to
develop what he thought was the ultimate fencing solution. It was called Directional Virtual
Fencing (DVF). DVF was defined by The Rangeland Journal as a methodology for
autonomously controlling an animals location, subsequently its direction of movement on a
landscape through the use of a series of ramped bilaterally applied cues through the use of
a series of ramped bilaterally applied cues. . . When asked why he would want to make a
virtual fence rather than a physical one, Anderson stated, When it comes to managing
animals, every conventional fence that I have ever built has been in the wrong place the
next year (Twilley, 2015). This is especially true in the region that he was developing his
program in. The desert rangelands in the Jordana area are fragile areas. They carry a large
amount of livestock at low stocking rates that depend on grazing that can be highly variable
depending on the rainfall patterns of the year. This means that grazing management is
extremely important to the long-term success of a grazing system.
The Directional Virtual fencing system requires cattle to wear collars like the cattle in
the test done at Vermont Technical College. Dr. Anderson came up with a different approach
to keeping the animals from crossing the boundaries though. While the Vermont Technical
College Trial used a systems of beeps and shocks to convince the animals to not cross it,
Anderson had a more complex idea in mind. His system didnt require a wire underground. It
used the Global Positioning Satellites (GPS) to determine an animals location (Leonard,
2006). The GPS system data that was collected was sent to a Geographic Information
System (GIS). The GIS can determine whether or not the animal is in the range it is supposed
to be. If the animal is too close to the decided boundary, it is given audio or shock signals to
either its left or right side to direct it to where it needs to go. There are differing levels of

cues for the animal. They can range from just an audio cue, which is the least severe, to a
combination of an audio and electric shock cue. Even with the most intense cue, there is
minimum stress to the animal (Leonard, 2006).
When these cues are given, the intensity of them is based on the animals distance
from the given boundary. This boundary is determined by the manager who is submitting the
coordinates to the GIS. The manager draws a polygon that consists of a virtual boundary,
virtual paddock, virtual center line, and an angle of approach. In this set up, the areas
further away from the boundary are blue and become redder the closer they get to the
boundary. With the blue areas the cues are more based on audio cues and become more
based on electrical cues the redder the zone is. The angle of approach is used to divert the
animal away slowly so it can have the minimal amount of cues toward it. It can gradually be
guided away from the boundary without having a lot of stress put on it.
Just like humans, the animals require different amounts of cues to be directed away
from the boundary. For this reason, the system can be modified as to how much of an impact
the cue has to make depending on the certain animal. Some may require just the minimum
audial cues to cause it to move while others may require a shock to pay any attention to the
boundary it is trying to cross. This can be adapted to fit each individual animal so it will
cause the minimum amount of stress on the animal.
Less stress on the animal is an all-around goal for DVF. While the harnesses can be
individualized for each animal, it also works better for their schedule. When a livestock
owner is moving the animals from one paddock to another in a rotational grazing system or
just to a better food source, they can set the polygon to move more quickly or slowly
(Anderson, 2007). This allows for the livestock to move on their own time rather than when
its more convenient for the owner. The livestock experience less stress from this because it
is a slower pace and more set to their natural times to move.
The real-time approach that the DVF system gives rangeland managers will allow
better stewardship for rangeland and tame pasture. It gives the opportunity for proactive

management due to its real-time capabilities. The real-time approach means the polygons
designated by the managers can be moved more quickly than conventional fences. Because
of this, the livestock can have better access to better forage plants quicker. It can also free
up time from the menial tasks associated with animal control. With this real-time possibility
it can be used in the wrong way. If it is used incorrectly, the effects of mismanagement can
result in landscapes being destructed at a faster rate than conventional fencing. This is why
it should only be used with proper management practices.
While there will probably always be a need for conventional fences, especially in
places like roadways, by airports, around government facilities, and other important places,
this could become a future of our rangeland. It could be in place for a large amount of
livestock. It could free up labor and provide an alternative to fences than can deter wildlife
as well as livestock. Overall, this is a very important idea in the world of precision agriculture
being applied to grazing systems.

Works Cited
Anderson, D. M. (2007). NMSU. Retrieved from Virtual fencing - past, present, and
future: http://jornada.nmsu.edu/bibliography/07-018.pdf
Leonard, E. (2006). Virtual Grazing Systems. Retrieved from Precision Ag News:
http://spaa.com.au/files/catalog/springsummer2006(virtualgrazingsystems).p
df
Maxwell, S. (2006 , March). Types of Fences for the Homestead. Retrieved from
MotherEarthNews:
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb1097378.pdf
Twilley, N. (2015). Invisible Fences - An Interview with Dean Anderson. Retrieved
from Venue: http://v-e-n-u-e.com/Invisible-Fences-An-Interview-with-DeanAnderson
Undersander, D. (2002). Pastures for profit: A guide to rotational grazing . Retrieved
from USDA-NRCS:
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb1097378.pdf

Voth, K. (2014, August 3). On Pasture. Retrieved from Fenceless Grazing:

http://onpasture.com/2014/08/04/fenceless-grazing/