TY - CONF T1 - Virtual fencing of nursing cattle grazing large pastures of Chihuahuan Desert rangelands T2 - Society for Range Management Y1 - 2022 A1 - Nyamuryekung'e, Shelemia A1 - Andrew Cox A1 - Perea, A. A1 - Matthew M. McIntosh A1 - Richard E. Estell A1 - Andrés F. Cibils A1 - Holland, J. A1 - Tony Waterhouse A1 - G. Duff A1 - M. Funk A1 - Skye Aney A1 - S. Spiegal A1 - Brandon T Bestelmeyer A1 - S. A. Utsumi KW - cattle grazing KW - Chihuahuan Desert KW - large pastures KW - nursing KW - rangelands KW - virtual fencing AB - Virtual fencing (VF) is an emerging technology to control livestock dispersal. This technology includes collars that employ auditory-electric pulse cues to deter animals from trespassing into excluded zones. Our objective was to investigate VF application on extensive rangelands. VF-trained nursing Brangus cows were grazed in a 480 ha pasture at the New Mexico State University’s Chihuahuan Desert Rangeland Research Center with the VF deactivated (control) or activated using three different polygon configurations. The VF-activated polygons excluded cattle from grazing either the East (209ha), West (200ha), or preferred Vegetation PV (80ha) within the pasture. Each pasture deployment lasted a week and the process was repeated on two groups of 11 and 18 cows, respectively. We analyzed 1) foraging behavior differences (control vs. VF-activated); 2) percentage of daily GPS locations within the excluded zones (control vs. VF-activated); and 3) number of auditory-electric pulses emitted during each VF-activated configuration (Excluded blocks East, West, or PV). The data were analyzed via an ANOVA to compare daily-derived variables. Cattle covered larger areas during control vs. VF-activated deployments (134.2 vs. 86.9ha P=0.04) with no differences in distance traveled nor cumulative activity index derived from the in-built motion sensors. When compared to the control, all VF-activated configurations significantly reduced the percentage of GPS positions within the excluded zone (East 52.27 vs. 0.67%GPS P0<.01; West 18.49 vs. 0.49%GPS P<0.01; PV 19.90 vs. 3.04%GPS P<0.01; control vs. VF-activated respectively). Significantly (P<0.01) higher audio and electric pulses (2.09, 0.51 respectively) were emitted during the PV trials compared to East (1.12, 0.17) or West (1.12, 0.14) blocks. In conclusion, VF holds promise in controlling spatial exploration patterns of cattle in extensive rangelands. Polygon configuration requires further research to understand trade-offs between animal welfare and effective management. CN - 399331 JA - Society for Range Management ER -