It might be easier to go vegan than be without technology. How long can you go without looking at a screen?

Smart cars, phones and watches provide unfathomable amounts of information about the world around us, our activities and even our health. Technology is being applied to the livestock industry like never before. Have a livestock management concern? No doubt someone is working on tech to address it.

Did you know there are fitness and health apps for cattle? You’re right; cattle aren’t walking around with smartwatches to track steps, but their activity can be monitored. Drones are being used to monitor cattle, calving barn cameras bring calving to your bedside, and remote water flow sensors alert you if no water is flowing to tanks. Robotic feeding, once thought of exclusively for dairy operations, is now used to feed beef cattle.

Cattle producers nationwide are adopting health monitoring, virtual fencing and solar technology.

Tech working its way into the cattle business

As an extension specialist for the University of Minnesota, Bradley Heins has been researching the pairing of solar energy and cattle. Many farms use solar panels in pastures, reducing their dependence on the electric grid. But can solar panels and cattle be in the pasture? Heins says, “Yes.”

His research has shown that cattle don’t harm solar panels, which has been the industry’s main objection. The opposite is true. Solar panels can improve animal performance by providing needed shade.

Initially, Heins redesigned panel support structures to be stronger and taller. While placing panels on 8-foot pedestals does enable weed and forage growth to become a non-issue, his experience is that the cattle don’t pay attention to the panels even when panels are closer to the ground.

“Besides the occasional rubbing, as long as the wiring is covered, my six years of research shows no issue with cattle and solar panels. Several farms in the area utilize solar panels in pastures for their own electricity. I think grazing cattle under panels on a larger scale will become more prominent,” Heins notes.

No more fencing

Virtual fencing is a redesign of technology from the pet industry to provide solutions for beef producers. No cross fencing – no problem, virtual fencing is here.

Cattle graziers can create and adjust virtual boundaries with a digital map interface such as Google Maps. These boundaries are communicated to GPS collars worn by the cattle. When approaching the set perimeter, cattle are warned with an audible cue followed by an electric stimulus. If they continue to approach the boundary, they receive a shock.

Cattle become accustomed to adjusting their grazing behavior within the allowed area. Managers are alerted if cattle cross boundaries, and GPS collars can help locate strays. However, the collars do allow cattle to return to a virtual fence.

While exterior traditional fencing is recommended, National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS)-funded research has shown virtual fencing can have significant benefits, including instantaneously fencing difficult terrain and managing forage and animals more closely by enabling high-intensity grazing and multiple daily moves with little effort.

Managing grazing can lead to less erosion and improved forage root systems that increase water retention, biodiversity and soil health. But improving soil and cattle health aren’t the only benefits; incorporating virtual fencing also allows the natural movement of wildlife.

“Initial results of virtual fencing studies show promising results in meeting conservation objectives when the technology is used in conjunction with the grazing management plan,” says USDA-NRCS National Grazing Specialist Tom Hilken.

However, there are also challenges with virtual fencing, the biggest being cost. Each virtual company, including NoFence, Vence, Gallagher, Corral and eShepherd, differs in requirements, equipment and expenses. All virtual fencing systems currently need cell reception. Some require a base station or multiple stations. These base stations must be solar-powered, have a limited range of 10 to 12 miles and can cost between $5,000 and $12,000, according to the NRCS. Collar costs, collar battery life and replacement costs, the need for subscriptions and subscription fees vary.

In addition, fitting collars and keeping them clean and functioning can require more frequent animal handling, and virtual fencing doesn’t provide a deterrent or predator protection like other fencing.

There is good news for those interested in adding virtual fencing to their arsenal of management tools. “Currently, under our Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP), cost share is available but does not include the upfront costs of the initial investment in base stations (towers) and/or collars. NRCS is currently working on having the upfront costs potentially available as early as 2025,” Hilken says.

University of Minnesota extension veterinarian Dr. Joe Armstrong says virtual fencing is the most widely adopted new technology. Livestock health monitoring and associated data collection technologies used exclusively in research are being adapted for cattle producers and feeders.

Health tech

Originally used for identification and fly control, eartags have gone high tech. Not only are eartags now used in electronic identification, but high-tech versions are capable of monitoring activity, skin temperature and ruminations.

Armstrong says there is a period of seven days for the device to become calibrated to each animal’s normal reading. Knowing what is normal enables managers to take note of abnormal readings and investigate further.

“A spike in activity for a heifer could alert the team that she is cycling, an abnormal number of ruminations, either high or low, can indicate a health concern, and skin temperature can be roughly correlated to body temperature.”

Accurately measuring and monitoring cattle temperatures can reduce disease treatment time and costs, increase animal productivity and improve animal welfare. Internal temps are a more accurate indication of disease; that is where high-tech boluses come in.

Boluses alert producers to slight body temperature changes, often the first sign of stress or illness. Fevers can indicate mastitis, respiratory diseases or metabolic diseases such as ketosis and milk fever. A drop in temperature could signal calving is near.

But that’s not all; feeding behavior can be monitored using radio frequency identification tags (RFID). Equipped with specific tags in conjunction with feedbunk technology, the total intake, frequency, feeding duration and eating rate can be monitored. This information is used to adjust rations and meet production goals while simultaneously controlling unnecessary feed costs.

Tech downsides

“Technology is ideally created to save us time and labor. But often technology serves to alter traditional activities requiring time investments differently,” says Armstrong. Considering technology's advantages and unintended negative consequences is crucial, he notes.

“When people are taken out of the equation and no longer interact with cattle daily, we don’t develop a relationship based on trust that better prepares cattle to be handled so they experience less stress,” Armstrong says.

He believes we need to concentrate on animal health and management basics and use technology where and when it gives us a significant advantage.

“More data can be a good thing, but technology will never replace experienced eyes on cattle or be able to replace the advantage of developing a human-animal bond built on trust and care,” Armstrong cautions.