Grazing animals require fencing to remain in designated pastures and prevent them from wandering, but fences are expensive and time-consuming to install and maintain. Farmers with limited mobility face additional challenges, and not all land-use scenarios allow for the installation of fencing.

In Southwest Virginia, fencing systems have been heavily damaged by recent extreme weather events, including Hurricane Helene, ice storms, and flooding. Rebuilding has been difficult, and farmers would benefit from more efficient and cost-effective alternatives.

Extension agents in Southwest Virginia recognized that virtual fencing systems offer a potential solution and have obtained funding to launch a year-long study. The study will assess how practical virtual fencing is for Virginia farmers, how technology concerns can be addressed, and whether virtual fencing can reduce maintenance costs and improve profitability.

“Virtual fencing systems are like electronic dog collars,” said Amy Byington, agriculture and natural resources Extension agent in Lee County. “The cows—or other grazing animals—wear collars, and you can set the boundary of where you’d like them to go. We are providing these systems to a number of farmers across participating counties to test for one year. We will evaluate the time spent using this system versus traditional fencing, how temporary fencing can enhance grazing, how the systems hold up, and many other factors. Then we can use that data to advise other farmers in Virginia.”

According to Byington, the system has already been impactful for one participating farmer who grazes cows on leased land and where it does not make economic sense to install infrastructure.

“Because of virtual fencing, this farmer is now able to enhance his grazing methods and use the land more efficiently,” said Byington.

Virtual fencing has been studied and successfully implemented on grazing lands in Australia, New Zealand, and the western United States, where large land areas and sparse vegetation make traditional fencing and herd management expensive and impractical. However, there is currently no research on the feasibility of virtual fencing in the eastern United States.

“Virtual fencing is not widespread in Virginia right now, but as more farmers adopt the technology, we expect to receive more questions about it,” said Byington, noting that the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has begun offering cost-share grants to help farmers adopt virtual fencing. “The collars are solar powered, so we want to see how they perform in wooded areas. We also want to see if the disposition of the animals affects how they react to the collars. There are many factors unique to Virginia and the eastern US that could affect how we recommend farmers use virtual fences.”

This project is a collaboration among the Lee County Livestock Association, John Fike, Extension forage specialist, and a group of Southwest Virginia Extension agents from Lee, Scott, Wise, Russell, Grayson, Carroll, Wythe, and Bland counties. The project will run through 2026 and into 2027 as additional farmers receive their equipment.

Funding for the project comes from the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission, with matching support from Virginia Cooperative Extension, The Matthews Foundation, Farm Credit Charitable Foundation Fund, the Scott County Soil and Water Conservation District, the Virginia Cattle Industry Board, and the Daniel Boone Soil and Water Conservation District. 

- Written by Devon Johnson, communications manager, and Amy Byington, unit coordinator and agriculture and natural resources Extension agent in Lee County.