All right friends, it’s myth-slaying time.
The technology product phenomenon for livestock production isn’t going anywhere; it is just getting bigger.
I’ve seen too many toxic myths about virtual fencing, ones that all beginners must break away from in order to successfully graze livestock virtually. Because with anything you do, your mindset is what sets you up for success.
Virtual Fencing is “about working with nature, not against it, and that’s the future I want to be part of.” Nick from Alberta.
Time to get straight with virtual fencing!
Myth #1: Virtual Fencing isn’t for me because I like to be out with my cows.
This is sooo not true. In fact, it burns me up every time I hear it.
I’ve been interviewing virtual fence users for over a year now, and in that time, I have spoken with dozens of them, and most have a version of the same story.
They spend more time with their cows with Gallagher eShepherd neckbands. There is no guessing where they might be or riding for hours searching for animals. Checking cows means knowing exactly where they are and going directly to their location.
If you hear anyone tell you this myth, they’re likely used to physically moving or repairing a fence as part of cow checking. With virtual fencing, fence evaluation doesn’t have to happen on the range. You get to be cow checking and focus on checking the cows.
So don’t let anyone tell you that you will be an armchair cowboy.
The truth:
Going out to the cows will look different with virtual fences. You will have time to look at the range critically: how is the grass growing, what are the water levels, and is the virtual fence location working to target hard-to-graze areas? You will get to focus on spending time with your cattle, evaluating, looking and being with them. Basically, virtual fencing lets you do all the parts of ranching you like without the heavy lifting of fence moving.
Myth #2: Virtual Fencing is a one-person job.
This one may be surprising. Many people picture virtual fencing as one person glued to their phone, managing the herd alone.
In reality, integrating virtual fencing into rotational grazing doesn’t have to be a solo effort. The confusion often comes from mixing up two very different tasks — setting up virtual fences and managing animal behaviour — rather than comparing them to physically moving portable fences.
Take Robyn from British Columbia, for example. During her lunch break from an off-ranch job an hour away, she logs in to the virtual fencing system to check the herd. Within seconds, she notices one cow separated from the group in a remote area — possibly signalling a problem. With a quick call, she shares the cow’s exact location with her parents back at the ranch. They ride out, investigate, and handle the situation.
Robyn’s parents are skilled livestock producers who prefer not to deal with moving physical fences every day. Thanks to virtual fencing, they can focus on what they love — caring for their animals — while Robyn keeps an eye on things from afar and returns to work confident that the herd is safe.
The truth:
Virtual Fencing helps share the workload and can bring together people with different strengths — from hands-on stockmanship to digital know-how.
It’s even attracting a new generation of tech-savvy ranchers who might not have wanted to ranch with traditional fencing, allowing them to stay connected to ranch life, whether part-time or remotely.
Myth #3: A Virtual Fence is the same as a perimeter fence.
I can totally understand why someone would believe this, especially if you are new to virtual fencing.
I’ve been there myself, and I can tell you that the secret sauce of virtual fencing is the creation of smaller internal virtual paddocks.
It can be tempting to believe it won’t require any planning with virtual fencing.
This is a dangerous misconception because you would miss out on the ability to rotational graze or non-selective grazing - controlling access to force cattle to eat what is in the virtual paddock instead of the freedom to roam and select the forage of their choice.
The truth:
Be prepared to spend time setting up a grazing map of smaller virtual paddocks to improve your grazing management.
Putting time into creating virtual paddocks is time well spent - these paddocks can be reused over and over and used in prescheduled moves to improve daily efficiency.
Why is it misleading to believe these 3 myths?
Believing in these myths can make you question your decision to introduce technology, especially virtual fencing, to improve your grazing. , while allowing you to have more time to do the part of ranching you enjoy - being with your cows!
And I absolutely know you have everything it takes to graze cattle virtually and easily. You just need the right guidance to succeed in virtual fencing. Otherwise, you risk spending time on time wasters or feeling frustrated with unanswered questions.
Whatever you do, don’t give up!
I’ve seen customers achieve better grazing practices while giving peace of mind while away from the range.
Let’s determine if Virtual Fencing is the right solution for your operation..
I am here to help you that decision with confidence.
