Informations et ressources scientifiques
sur le développement des zones arides et semi-arides

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Titre : A FUTURE WITHOUT FENCES ? OPTIMIZING ANIMAL AND LAND MANAGEMENT THROUGH APPLICATIONS OF PRECISION ANIMAL MANAGEMENT ON COMPLEX SOUTHWESTERN RANGELANDS

Identification : 1030244

Pays : Etats Unis

Durée : START : 01 AUG 2023 TERM : 31 JUL 2028

Résumé
Ranchers and land management agencies across the U.S. continue to rely on 150-year-old technology to contain and manage livestock—thousands of miles of wire fencing across millions of acres of rangelands. And along with these fences, problems of the past persist today. Wire fencing can fragment landscapes, harm wildlife, and is a major financial investment for ranchers and land agencies, costing tens of thousands of dollars per mile. Fences are also vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Wildfires in the west destroy wire fences on public and private rangelands and cause years of costly uncertainty as trees fall across fence lines, requiring constant repair. These factors continually increase fencing costs for ranchers, while undermining rangeland condition and animal welfare when animals escape through damaged fences. A new 21st century rangeland management and animal production approach that embraces precision management is needed to meet these challenges. One new technology provides an opportunity to manage livestock on open rangelands without the use of traditional wire fencing—virtual fencing (VF). Virtual fencing may represent a first step toward a world without physical fences. However, much is unknown about the ecological and economic performance of VF, and its direct and indirect impacts on animal welfare, especially in the challenging rangeland environment of the southwestern U.S. Our project directly addresses the need for new research on the effects of VF on animal health, rangeland condition, and ranch economics, and delivers these findings to producers through a comprehensive extension outreach and education program.

Objectifspartiels
The long-term goal of this research is to provide agricultural producers and professionals with new knowledge and tools to implement precision livestock management and improve animal welfare, increase productivity, enhance adaptive management approaches, and maximize economic viability. The objective of this proposal is to determine the effects of VF technology, an increasingly prominent precision livestock management tool, on animal welfare, livestock management, and economic viability in the context of environmentally diverse southwestern rangelands. The availability of precision livestock management tools, especially VF, is rapidly increasing, but many of these tools have not been rigorously tested for their effects on animal health and welfare, utility for implementation in the context of complex real world grazing management systems, or economic practicality for typical livestock producers. The arid and semi-arid deserts and grasslands of the southwest are a particularly challenging environment for livestock management, requiring complex management strategies in response to high temporal and spatial variability in precipitation, limited forage, and difficult terrain. These conditions may both challenge VF technologies, or enhance the potential benefits of their effective implementation. As southwest rangelands are significantly different than other western or Great Plains rangeland systems, VF results in other locations may not apply in the southwest. The central hypothesis of the proposed research is that application of advanced precision livestock management through use of VF will improve the sustainability of southwestern ranches by improving animal welfare, increasing the provision of ecosystem services, and enhancing the economic viability of ranch operations.To accomplish our objective and test our hypotheses, we will (a) conduct fieldwork to measures animal welfare and rangeland condition (b) conduct economic analysis of costs and benefits and a survey of ranchers to determine viability and perception of VF technology, and (c) conduct comprehensive outreach and extension programing with ranchers and agency staff to share research results. In doing so, we pursue four project aims and related hypotheses

Financement total : $1,000,000

Performing Institution : UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
Investigator : Lien, A. M. ; Ruyle, GE, B.. ; Soto, JO, R. ; Beard, JO,

Présentation : USDA (NIFA)