Create a Virtual Fence

Designing a VF boundary is simple and user-friendly. While the exact process varies between companies, the general approach is the same. Livestock producers open an app on their phone or a website on their desktop, typically displaying a Google map of their property. From there, they can drop pins onto the map to outline the desired virtual pasture, creating a polygon that defines the VF. VFs can cover anywhere between one to many thousands of acres.

Though producers have flexibility in shaping the VF to meet their needs, following a few guidelines will help ensure livestock can easily understand and respect the boundary. First, the VF should include essential resources like water and shade, located well inside the boundary. Additionally, VFs should have more open, rounded, straight, or gently angled shapes to make it easier for livestock to navigate.

A VF should avoid shapes with:

• Acute Angles (sharp corners): Angles less than 90 degrees can confuse animals, as they may have difficulty understanding where the boundary is.
• Narrow, elongated sections: Long, thin areas create tight spaces that animals may not navigate well, making it harder for them to stay within the boundary.
• Complex shapes with many corners: Too many turns or complicated outlines increase the risk of animals becoming disoriented, especially near sharp turns.

In addition to containment, VF can also be used to exclude animals from specific areas. This might include infrastructure (like a well), archaeological sites, or environmentally sensitive regions such as riparian zones or meadows. Exclusion zones can be integrated within a larger VF, enabling producers to manage access to certain areas. For example, livestock could be excluded from a meadow within a larger grazing allotment to preserve forage for later in the season or to comply with conservation guidelines.