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The future of fencing? How virtual fencing could transform ranching across the Yellowstone ecosystem
The Bozeman-based Property and Environment Research Center and the Ricketts Conservation Foundation have partnered to launch the Yellowstone Ecosystem Virtual Fence Collaborative, an initiative aimed at encouraging livestock producers to adopt virtual fencing technology.
“The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is one of the largest and most intact ecosystems in the world, and the fact that it just happens to be in the backyards of both PERC and the RCF is pretty significant,” Travis Brammer, PERC’s director of conservation, said. “We’re still testing virtual fencing, but the early signs are that it’s a successful tool for keeping landscapes open, intact, and working by making sure that agricultural production and conservation can work together.”
The future of fencing? How virtual fencing could transform ranching across the Yellowstone ecosystem
Virtual fencing technology from Halter gains support from Montana ranchers and officials
Virtual fencing acts sort of like an invisible fence for dogs would, where cows wear a collar that beeps and then gives a light shock to them as they approach a boundary set by GPS.
Halter Seeks $2 Billion to Expand AI “Virtual Animal Collar” Fencing Technology
Pricing starts at $9.90 per cow per month, while a New Mexico State University analysis estimated virtual fencing costs at about $92.71 per cow annually compared to $188 for traditional fencing. An independent study showed a 33% milk production increase and 60% drop in lameness on farms using the system.
Virtual Fences And Smart Collars from Bozeman-based PERC at Wyoming’s Pitchfork Ranch Could Revive the Wild West Era Open Range
The Pitchfork Ranch is piloting technology that lets ranchers draw fence on a smartphone. The virtual fence reacts with collars the cattle wear. It’s working so well they say, fencing could disappear and bring back Wyoming’s Wild West era open range.
