Livestock virtual fencing
We all know about keeping our dogs in the yard with visual fencing. But wait…what about cattle. Well…
Jay and Chyenne Smith worked with a research team at the University of Idaho, the Salmon-Challis National Forest and Bureau of Land Management to set up a Virtual Fencing project on spring, summer and fall range.
Dr. Dean Anderson, a Range Scientist in New Mexico, worked together with Dr. Daniela Rus, Director of the Artificial Intelligence Lab at MIT, to develop Virtual Fencing technology.
Virtual Fencing systems have three basic components:
A base station, typically solar powered, in a place where it can receive a strong cellular signal from an existing network.
Vence GPS collars are placed on livestock.
Grazing boundaries are set with Vence herd-management software.
To get started, it takes 4-5 days to train the cattle in a small pasture so they learn to respect the Virtual Fence boundaries.
