Throughout
each month of the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, we focus
on critical components of these diverse ecosystems and people. As we enter the
summer months here in Arizona, where late monsoons drive much of our forage
production, rain and forage availability are often on our minds. But rangeland
sustainability is a function not only of ecological drivers but also of
technical and social support for ranchers; it’s timely, therefore, that July's
theme was designated as services and infrastructure for pastoralists.
In
recent years, incorporating technology to support ranchers and land managers has
become a major focus in rangeland management. We have long known that animal
distribution is critical to maintaining sustainable livestock grazing, but
historically studies of these relationships relied on bulky GPS collars
deployed in a research setting. GPS ear tags that interface with satellites are
making near real-time monitoring of animal movement and use more accessible on
even fairly remote rangelands. Ear tags allow producers to quickly identify
where their animals are located right from their phone or computer. Moreover, some
of them can provide near-real-time animal health alerts (no movement, low
activity, etc.); while boots on the ground remain extremely important,
navigating animal husbandry concerns in remote locations has never been easier.
Virtual
fencing technology takes this concept a step further by using GPS technology
combined with autonomously applied audio and electric stimulation cues to
contain and move livestock on the landscape. Whether you want to subdivide
larger pastures, or passively move your herd through pasture rotations, virtual
fence systems facilitate these applications without the need for costly internal
physical fencing. Yes, you still need to have good perimeter fences! We’re also
learning that this technology can be impactful for conservation; it has been
used to contain livestock in recently burned areas where fence lines were
destroyed, and to exclude livestock grazing from sensitive riparian areas. Future
research will help us identify additional conservation applications; livestock
containment is rarely 100% (but to be fair, that’s also true of physical
fences), so this technology may not be the best approach for excluding grazing
from highly palatable plants but will almost certainly have impacts on
facilitating movement for native species like pronghorn through reduction of
physical fencing.
Virtual
fence technology is rapidly changing/evolving with some companies now utilizing
satellite-based systems instead of base stations or cellular networks. This new
development has the potential to provide unprecedented communication and
control in vast, remote, and topographically rough rangelands. Virtual fencing has
the potential to be a game-changer in precision livestock management.
Like
knowing where your animals are and improving livestock distribution, monitoring
your water sources is another age-old problem on rangelands. Water is the most
important nutrient for grazing livestock and ranchers spend countless hours and
energy each year ensuring watering systems are functioning properly. Now,
remote water monitoring systems let you monitor water levels, detect water
leaks, and assess local precipitation right from your phone.
Although
these emerging technologies provide a major boon in terms of supporting
ranchers and land managers, finding the appropriate tool or technology in a
given landscape or grazing system can be daunting. Even for those of us in Cooperative
Extension, whose job it is to keep abreast of these advances, it can be
difficult to stay up to date on all these resources. To help address this
issue, a Virtual Fencing User Guide (
https://rangelandsgateway.org/vf) was created on the Rangeland
Partnership’s Rangelands Gateway website as a resource for potential users to
access unbiased and realistic information about virtual fencing technologies as
well as information about applying these systems to real-world operations.
As we
branch out to embrace the rapid pace of technological advances, to effectively
apply these new technologies, we need to remember our roots. The heart of
rangeland management is peer-to-peer discussions at the kitchen table or the
truck bed, looking at the land and working towards solutions collaboratively.
This may be in the form of meetings with your local Natural Resources
Conservation Service Resource Specialist to learn about Payment Incentive programs
to support technology implementation, small workshops hosted by your state’s
Cooperative Extension Unit, or fireside chats during state chapter meetings of Society
for Range Management. As we admire and implement new technology in our
rangeland management, we must at the same time continue to foster the
relationships that keep the lands we love healthy and whole.