Virtual Fencing On California Rangelands
What is Virtual Fencing?
Virtual fencing (VF) is a technology that enables livestock producers to manage where their animals graze without relying on physical fences. Instead of traditional wire fencing, animals wear GPS-enabled collars that detect invisible boundaries on the landscape set by the producer. When an animal wearing a VF collar approaches the VF line, the collar emits audio tones and, if necessary, mild electric pulses to guide the animal back into the designated area.
While VF is designed to contain livestock independent of physical fencing, it is not intended to replace secure perimeter fencing. Instead, VF operates best as a dynamic, flexible, and adaptable cross-fence that offers livestock producers and natural resource managers greater opportunity to implement the following applications:
- Real-time location tracking of livestock.
- Targeted grazing of palatable weeds to improve rangeland health.
- Reduce wildfire risk by targeting areas with high fuel loads, such as brush and fuel breaks.
- Graze post fire to prevent brush encroachment and promote reforestation.
- Exclude livestock from environmentally and culturally sensitive sites and recreational areas.
- Decrease production costs by reduced need to build and maintain physical fences.
University of California Research
The University of California is working to understand the applications of VF on California rangelands with grant funding through the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service Conservation Technical Assistance: Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI) Cooperative Agreements
Please click on the links below to learn more about our research trials and findings.
- VF on Forested Rangeland
- Targeted Grazing Medusahead for Rangeland Improvement
- Grazing Fuel Breaks In The Wildland Urban Interface
- Targeted Grazing Deer Brush for Fuel Suppression
- Using VF To Establish Valley Oaks On Rangeland
- Using VF To Exclude Cattle From A Botanically Sensitive Site
- Using VF With Small Ruminants
Questions?
Please contact Brian Allen (brallen@ucanr.edu)