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ARS Home » Plains Area » Las Cruces, New Mexico » Range Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #418573
Research Project: Knowledge Systems and Tools to Increase the Resilience and Sustainability of Western Rangeland Agriculture

Location: Range Management Research

Title: Virtual grazing of Raramuri Criollo and Angus-Hereford cattle on arid rangelands

Author
item PEREA, A - New Mexico State University
item Macon, Lara
item SPETTER, M - New Mexico Consortium
item FUNK, M - New Mexico State University
item Estell, Richard
item VAN LEEUWEN, D - New Mexico State University
item Bestelmeyer, Brandon
item Spiegal, Sheri
item UTSUMI, S - New Mexico State University

Submitted to: Society for Range Management Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/1/2025
Publication Date: 2/13/2025
Citation: Perea, A.R., Macon, L.K., Spetter, M.J., Funk, M.P., Estell, R.E., Van Leeuwen, D., Bestelmeyer, B.T., Spiegal, S.A., Utsumi, S.A. 2025. Virtual grazing of Raramuri Criollo and Angus-Hereford cattle on arid rangelands. Society for Range Management Meeting Abstracts. Abstract.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: A two-phase study was conducted to compare the response of beef cows to a virtual grazing system. In the training phase, 30 Raramuri Criollo and 30 Angus-Hereford cows were instrumented with Nofence® collars. Ten cows of each breed were allocated to one of six pens in a completely randomized design. Training consisted of exposing cows to a sequence of six 3-d periods. In P1 and P4, the virtual fence was deactivated. In P2 and P5, the virtual fence was activated to exclude about 30% of the area on the west side of the pens. In P3 and P6, the restricted zone was switched to the east side of pens. In the testing phase, the trained cows were arranged into two groups of 15 cows per breed and grazing four pastures (1,100 to 2,400 ha), in a Latin square design with four 7-d periods. A low-pressure virtual fence was applied to exclude approximately 20% of the pasture area. Warnings (W), stimulations (S) and stimulations/warnings (S/W) were the response variables and were analyzed by ANOVA using a 5% significance level. For the training phase, effects of breed, period, day (period) and their interactions were analyzed by mixed models, using day (period) as the repeated measure. In the testing phase, breed effect was analyzed. A greater number of W and S were observed on day one of P2 for Angus-Hereford and P2 over other periods. The S/W were greater for Angus-Hereford, and in P2 and P3 than P5 and P6. No differences between breeds were found in the testing phase. Raramuri cows adapted faster to the VF, but all cows effectively learned to respond to the virtual fence audio cueing over time with the learning persisting throughout the entire testing phase.