BRIDGEPORT, NEB. (RFD-TV) — Drought can leave cattle producers searching for additional grazing options, but accessing available forage can be difficult when pastures lack the fencing needed to contain livestock.
For Shalane Bright and her family at Chaulk Creek Cattle in Nebraska, virtual fencing offered a way to open additional grazing land without installing miles of physical fence.
Bright joined Market Day Report to discuss how her family is using Monil Virtual Fences to manage cattle and make better use of their land during dry conditions.
Drought Prompts a Search for More Forage
Bright said the drought left her family without grass in their normal pasture, forcing them to consider whether to move their cattle elsewhere or find a way to keep them on the farm.
“We were faced with no grass in our normal pasture,” Bright said. “We were posed with the question: Do we drylot our cows and take them somewhere else, or is there a way we can keep them here on the farm?”
The family began exploring virtual fencing and ultimately chose Monil, which uses GPS-enabled collars and an app to establish virtual boundaries for cattle.
Virtual Fencing Opens Additional Grazing Land
Bright said her family operates about 1,800 acres, including roughly 1,200 acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) with pollinator habitat and trees planted in strips across the property.
Following the drought, the family was able to access additional grazing opportunities on eligible CRP acres through USDA’s Farm Service Agency. However, the land had not previously been grazed because the trees and other areas were not enclosed by physical fencing.
Bright said the grass was particularly appealing because much of it had gone ungrazed for about 25 years.
The Monil system gave the family a way to establish virtual boundaries and turn cattle out onto the additional acreage without building fences around the trees and pollinator strips.
Cattle Adapt to Virtual Boundaries
Before turning cattle onto the unfenced CRP acreage, Bright’s family trained them in their normal pasture, where the animals were familiar with the water systems and surroundings.
After about two and a half weeks, the family moved the cattle to the additional grazing area.
Bright said the animals adapted well to the new boundaries, allowing the family to use forage that otherwise would have been difficult to access.
She also said the app makes it easy to create and adjust virtual fences and move cattle without needing to be physically present for every change.
Technology Makes Herd Management More Flexible
Bright said virtual fencing has made managing the family’s cattle more flexible, allowing them to shift grazing areas and monitor the herd remotely.
The system also helps the family locate an animal if it moves beyond its assigned boundary.
Bright’s teenage daughters use the app on their phones to check the cattle, giving the next generation a hands-on way to participate in managing the operation.
“Everybody can go check the cows, look at the cows, and if one escapes, you can find it and put her right back in,” Bright said.
She encouraged other producers considering virtual fencing to explore the technology, pointing to the ease of using the app and adjusting boundaries as conditions change.
LEARN MORE: www.monil.com/us
