Costs prevent expansion of virtual fencing in livestock systems

Brian Donaldson
·2-min read
Hillsborough Farm Walk. <i>(Image: John McVitty)</i>
Hillsborough Farm Walk. (Image: John McVitty)

Labour requirements for managing cattle at pasture could be reduced with the introduction of virtual fencing, according to AFBI Hillsborough researchers.

Francis Lively and Conor Holohan said that key messages include the fact that virtual fence technology uses a combination of audio and electrical stimuli to contain grazing livestock within a GPS boundary.

Research to date indicated that virtual fencing which was demonstrated at the AFBI open days at Hillsborough last week can be an effective and ethically acceptable technology for use with grazing livestock and could offer an alternative to physical fencing for sub-dividing grazing platforms to improve grassland management. However, reductions in the cost of the technology will be required to encourage uptake at a farm level.

Monitors fitted to cattle cost up to £300 while sheep monitors could be around £200.

Virtual fencing (VF) is a technology which enables grazing livestock to be managed without the use of a physical fence. The system typically comprises a mobile phone application (through which the user sets the VF boundary) and a GPS-enabled neck collar. When the animal approaches the VF, it receives an audio warning to turn around. This is followed by an electric pulse if it proceeds beyond the VF.

Over the last three years, AFBI has conducted seven studies using 300 animals, including growing cattle, suckler cows and calves, ewes and dairy cows. The primary focus of the studies has been to access the impact of the technology on animal welfare, however, the effectiveness of the technology has also been evaluated.

Collectively, the data generated from this project has demonstrated that virtual fence technology is an effective means of containing groups of animals (cattle or sheep) within a set boundary in a welfare-friendly environment. The results have indicated that regardless of animal age, species, or environment they are able to be trained to use the equipment provided that they are trained to the virtual fence in a small paddock at the outset. Despite some individual animal variation only one animal in the complete group evaluated did not successfully train to use the virtual fence collars. A possible explanation might have been that the animal might have been deaf.

A range of grazing conditions was evaluated, and results would support the conclusion that virtual fencing can be a suitable replacement for electric fencing, offering a simpler and more labour-efficient method for managing grasslands within both lowland and upland pastures with no difference in animal performance. Although the technology has proved to be successful the current cost of it relative to electric fencing will limit the uptake at a farm level unless prices drop, or grant aid is provided to assist farmers purchasing the equipment.

The project at AFBI was funded by DAERA and Horizon 2020.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest stories

  • How to survive a shark attack – or better yet, avoid one entirely

    You are incredibly unlikely to be attacked by a shark. But if you are that very rare person who is, here’s what to do when a shark goes after you.

  • Beryl, the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season, is rapidly approaching the Caribbean

    Beryl is the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season, with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph with stronger gusts, according to a 5 p.m. EST update from the National Hurricane Center.

  • Scientists identify main source that could be fueling Iceland’s hotbed of volcanic activity

    Bringing together branches of science that usually don’t talk in a new study, researchers predict for how long volcanoes in Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula will erupt.

  • Farmers like John Price SHOULD be allowed to dredge Herefordshire rivers!

    HISTORICALLY, management of our rivers was conducted by local farmers and landowners through river management boards.

  • She lives next to one of England’s most famous rivers but doesn’t dare to swim in it

    The Thames is England’s longest and most famous river but it is becoming known for something a lot less desirable – pollution. Data from the UK’s Environment Agency shows a mere 14% of rivers in England are fit for people and animals. Helen Glover is a two-time Olympic champion rower. The British athlete lives near the Thames and has trained on it for years, but not this year - she says it would be too much of a health risk to do so during her preparation for the Paris Olympics.

  • Why Labour’s net zero plan will cost taxpayers the earth

    Labour’s £8.3bn bet on a state-owned energy company promises to cut costs for British taxpayers, but the numbers don’t add up.

  • London carries out disaster training exercise to test if it’s prepared for ‘unbelievable’ 40C heat

    Operation Helios hopes to ensure authorities have the right tools and knowledge to handle emergencies and support Londoners through extreme weather events.

  • Charge an electric car in five minutes? This Cambridge start-up says it can

    A British battery company has developed an electric car that can be charged in just five minutes, in a step towards solving the lengthy plug-in times that frustrate EV drivers.

  • Berlin Zoo Asks for Help Naming Baby Hippo Whose Bath Video Went Viral

    The Berlin zoo is asking for name suggestions for a resident baby hippo whose bath video went viral on social media.Adorable new bath time footage taken by the zoo on June 26 shows the baby pygmy hippo getting cleaned again.The zoo said in a press release that the video of the little animal’s sudsy first bath reached 6.8 million views on TikTok and 9 million views on Instagram.“To give all hippo fans the chance to contribute their suggestions, there will be an opportunity to submit name suggestions for the little pygmy hippo in the comment column on the zoo’s social media channels Facebook, Instagram and TikTok until 5 July,” the zoo said in the press release, suggesting that the zoo director particularly likes “short, concise names with a Berlin connection.”“The little one sleeps a lot, drinks about four times a day, and is weighed and bathed daily by the zookeepers,” said zoologist Dr Florian Sicks.Sicks said the baby hippo, born June 3, already weighs 10 kg (22 pounds) and that her favorite hiding place is a pile of hay.The baby hippo is not visible to zoo guests yet, but should be from the end of July onwards, the zoo said.Pygmy hippos are an endangered species, according to the Pygmy Hippos Foundation. Credit: Zoo Berlin via Storyful

  • Startups Working on Using the Ocean as Huge Waste Dump for CO2 to Save Earth From Climate Change

    Flow State Our fight against climate change is getting desperate. We may be on our way to a renewables-powered future, but until then, immediate solutions are needed to contend with soaring temperatures and rising sea levels. That has scientists considering ambitious large-scale projects to engineer the climate in our favor, such as reducing the sunlight […]

  • Kinkajou - a rainforest animal - is rescued from a dusty rest stop in Washington state

    Kinkajous are carnivores that live in tropical rainforests from southern Mexico through Brazil

  • Flight cancellations and long delays at UK airports mar start to peak travel weekend

    Exclusive: Wizz Air passengers from Sicily finally fly home on third day, as other travellers face 12-hour delays

  • Planting giant cactus to stave off desertification in Brazil

    Giant spiky cacti tower over farmer Alcides Peixinho Nascimento, 70, one of the residents of Brazil's unique Caatinga biome who is on a mission to plant native vegetation in a bid to halt desertification."Preserving the Caatinga means keeping the land alive," said the farmer Nascimento.

  • Remote access giant TeamViewer says Russian spies hacked its corporate network

    TeamViewer, the company that makes widely used remote access tools for companies, has confirmed an ongoing cyberattack on its corporate network. In a statement Friday, the company attributed the compromise to government-backed hackers working for Russian intelligence, known as APT29 (and Midnight Blizzard). TeamViewer said that the cyberattack "was contained" to its corporate network and that the company keeps its internal network and customer systems separate.

  • Fire Crew Rescues Dog Trapped in Ravine in Western Washington

    A fire department rescued a dog trapped in a ravine in western Washington on Friday, June 28, footage shows.Footage posted by the Tacoma Fire Department (TFD) shows responders using ropes to gently pull out a dog trapped in a ravine in Tacoma on Friday afternoon.The dog was later transported safely to animal control, TFD said. Credit: Tacoma Fire Department via Storyful

  • The Wealthiest Person in Austria

    We recently compiled a list of the 9 Wealthiest People in Austria and in this article, we will look at the richest person in Austria. Austria’s Economic Outlook and Its Strong Transnational Ties Austria is home to a well-developed economy, welcoming foreign direct investments significantly in technology and R&D. The country offers a high living standard […]

  • Navy faces lawsuit over stalled $1.2bn clean-up of San Francisco shipyard filled with radioactive waste

    During 1950s, ships used in atomic weapons tests leached contamination into shipyard

  • 20 hardy plants that can withstand any weather

    Months of incessant rainfall in the UK, followed by the current hot weather, are part of an increasingly erratic weather pattern that we need to get used to, according to the Met Office.

  • A teenage beachgoer killed by lightning on a beach in northern Greece

    A 13-year-old beachgoer died after being struck by lightning in northern Greece during a sudden summer rainstorm Friday, authorities said. A local official said the Greek girl had been swimming with her parents at Faros beach, near Poseidi in Halkidiki, a resort area southeast of Thessaloniki popular with Greek and foreign visitors. Kassandreia Mayor Anastasia Halkia said the family came out of the sea because it had just started to rain, but the weather deteriorated very quickly.

  • Nokia taps AI boom with $2.3 billion Infinera purchase

    Nokia's bid to buy US optical networking gear maker Infinera in a $2.3 billion deal puts the Finnish company on track to gain from the billions of dollars in investment pouring into data centres to cater to the rise of artificial intelligence. The deal would help Nokia to leapfrog Ciena and become the second largest vendor in the optical networking market with a 20% share, behind Huawei, which is benefiting from the minimal presence of Western companies in China. Nokia's move will allow the company to sell more equipment to big tech companies such as Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft as they invest billions of dollars in building new data centres to service the artificial intelligence boom.