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Ranchers are using GPS-collars to herd livestock with virtual fences

The US Bureau of Land Management is helping ranchers and farmers in Colorado test virtual fences, which set moveable boundaries controlled by an app, and can keep cattle from overgrazing the range

By James Dinneen

17 January 2023

A herd of cows with GPS transmitters. Dairy cows with GPS collars - stock photo

A herd of cattle wearing collars with GPS transmitters

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Herds of cattle in Colorado are roaming nearly free. They are penned in not by physical fences, but virtual ones – part of a test by the US Bureau of Land Management to use virtual fencing on thousands of cattle across more than 2000 square kilometres of land in the state. These virtual fences enable farmers or ranchers to direct the movement of their herds with an app connected to GPS-enabled collars, and they could one day be combined with AI to …

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