Posted on May 15, 2009 - by Hubba

Huh?

I got this in an email today, and after the post about technology and ranching, it seemed pertinent.

I will offer my thoughts at the bottom.

News Update
April 23, 2009

A Partnership to Promote a Cattle Herding Device

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has agreed to grant an exclusive license to Canadian firm Krimar of Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia, for their interest in marketing a type of nonwire, virtual fencing technology for cows linked to global positioning.

The Directional Virtual Fencing (DVF) system sends electronic cues to a cow’s ears so that it will move in a preferred direction, according to Dean Anderson, an ARS animal scientist at the Jornada Experimental Range in Las Cruces, N.M.

Cows must be moved periodically to quality forage for optimum performance. Animals left too long in the same area can also damage a landscape by overgrazing the standing crop. The vast open spaces on many ranches make controlling a herd’s movements challenging.

The patented system is not intended to replace a rancher’s expertise, but will be used as an animal management tool able to steer a moving animal without inflicting physical harm.

The system locates cows with global positioning and sends auditory signals, such as a human voice, that can be raised or lowered in volume, according to Anderson. The commands can vary from familiar “gathering songs” sung by cowboys during manual roundups to sirens designed to get cows to move or avoid entering forbidden areas.

The system is automated so ranchers can give cues at any time and track movements from a computer. ARS has patented the technology based on experimental designs. ARS scientists are currently working on a commercially viable prototype that features a stereo headset around each ear.

To view the report online with photos and video, visit www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/090325.htm.

While this whole idea seems a little preposterous to me (certainly there would be bugs in the system) the part I objected the most to was the “traditional gathering songs sung by cowboys on manual roundups.”  While it is true that in the olden days, cowboys on night guard would often sing to calm the cattle, I have not found one instance of a group of cowboys singing “traditional gathering songs,” either in the old west, or in my own experience.  If I encountered such I group, I would think them, meaning no offense, to be decidedly homosexual. 

Further, you would be hard pressed to find a cow today who is familiar with the traditional night herding songs, which date back one hundred years, and would include “Buffalo Gals,” “Camptown Races,” “Yankee Doodle,” and “Aura Lee.”  Maybe you could sing “Love Me Tender” I don’t know.

I must admit though, that the idea of retiring the fencing pliers is appealing.