Virtually fence free: long-term trial

The Virtually Fence Free (2023-28) long-term trial is testing out technology and land management techniques to improve drought resilience for North Queensland grazing enterprises.

NQ Dry Tropics partnered with the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) to deliver the project, through funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund. 

Taking place at DPI’s Spyglass Beef Research Facility, the trial  aims to establish whether the eShepherd virtual fencing system could enable rangeland graziers to effectively implement fine-scale, adaptive grazing systems in commercial-sized beef cattle herds. The technology allows users to move cattle remotely by instantly modifying digital paddock boundaries via an app.

The trial aims to determine whether virtual fencing- enabled cattle movements lead to improved land condition and carrying capacity. Cattle generally prefer grazing in specific parts of a paddock, especially flatlands and riparian areas, while avoiding other, more challenging, terrain. Physically fencing off these preferred areas to allow rest and prevent degradation can be cost-prohibitive, so this trial is investigating in detail how virtual fencing can overcome preferential grazing to achieve desired outcomes for land condition, carrying capacity and ultimately, drought resilience.