VIRTUAL FENCING IN THE CANYONLANDS
Natural Resources/Aquaculture
Cory Farnsworth
Assistant Professor, Agriculture and Natural Resources
Utah State University Cooperative Extension
Moab
Abstract
In 2021, a wildfire devastated thousands of acres in the La Sal mountains near Moab, Utah, burning miles of Forest Service pasture and allotment fences, along with hundreds of acres of quaking aspen on the Dorry Allotment. The rancher who holds the federal grazing permit, or permittee, was mandated to allow the pasture to rest for a minimum of two growing seasons and repair all fences. Additionally, the permittee was required to prevent cattle from accessing stands of quaking aspen regrowth and areas still in recovery from the fire. By 2022, it was projected that replacing 10 miles of barbed wire fence would incur a cost of $26,400 per mile, totaling $264,000 on the Dorry Allotment. In an effort to seek cost-effective alternatives, Vence, a virtual fencing company, was invited to present their product to ranchers of Southeastern Utah. The estimated cost for virtual fencing was $12,000 per communication tower and $50 annually per cow for collars and batteries, amounting to approximately $17,000 for 100 cows. Consequently, the Dorry and the Camp Jackson Permittees opted to experiment with virtual fencing. Utah’s Grazing Improvement Program offered to help fund the experiment. Following its implementation in 2023, a full grazing season was successfully completed. On average, the permittees found that the battery life only lasted 6-9 months which added an expense of $10 per cow in addition to the time it takes to replace the batteries. Early in the trial the permittees also had problems with collars falling off of cows. Vence is working on increasing battery performance and has worked with the ranchers to replace and upgrade faulty parts. Virtual fencing proved to be useful for locating cattle and keeping them within the appropriate boundaries and out of aspen regrowth. This resulted in much more effective use of the ranchers' time and efforts and positive feedback from the Forest Service and the public. Its successfulness has prompted both permittees to use virtual fencing again in 2024 and to expand its use to other herds.
Authors: Cory Farnsworth
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Cory Farnsworth Assistant Professor, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Utah State University Cooperative Extension, Utah, 84532