Alberta producer tests Halter virtual fencing system, finds many benefits

Mike Hittinger, who farms near Westlock, Alta., is the first person in Canada to try the Halter Virtual Fencing system. He’s been using it on his farm since the beginning of January.

Hittinger, chair of the Gateway Research Organization, collaborates with Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR) and is involved with the On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF).

“The opportunity came up, and they were looking for someone to trial the system, and I thought it might be a good fit for my operation,” said Hittinger, who has 1,600 acres of pasture on which he runs 200 cows, as well as yearlings and bred heifers.

This is the first time he has used a virtual fencing system.

Why it Matters: More virtual fencing options in Canada give ranchers more opportunities to find the right fit for their operation.

With the Halter Virtual Fencing system, the collars are GPS controlled and come with a solar panel to charge the battery. Halter, which was created in New Zealand, is just starting to be available in Canada.

“When we got going on it, we were early enough into it that the app wasn’t even available in Canada yet,” Hittinger said.

One of his cows was the first in Canada to wear a Halter collar.

Hittinger’s test of the system in Canada will examine how the unit functions in cold weather during winter.

He said using an app or an aerial image on the internet enables the producer to set up the virtual fences they want.

“You don’t have a physical fence in place. You tell the map, ‘this is where I want this virtual fence to be.’ It downloads the GPS information to each collar, and the collars then know whether they are inside or outside of that boundary, and they guide the cows that way,” he said.

Hittinger said he can program the virtual fence for a certain herd and put the cattle in an area of the pasture that is not cross fenced.

“I draw the fence in the app on the map, and that information is downloaded to the collars via wi-fi and then the collars know via GPS signal where they are in proximity to that,” he said.

This will direct the cattle to go into a specific area, called a break. If they try to cross the virtual fence while they are in the break, the collar will give off an audible tone.

“If they continue to cross and continue further, then they get a shock that’s delivered by the collar,” he said.

“Once they’re all trained, they will turn around at the sound of the tone. The shock usually provides a second level warning,” he said.

The other virtual fencing options in Canada include systems by Gallagher, NoFence and Vence.

Unlike the Gallagher system, where the collar hangs down on a strap around the cow’s neck, the Halter system has a metal fibre woven into the collar.

“The collar looks like a seat belt. They’re adjustable and you can fit them to fit with certain tension on their neck. You don’t want them to fall off, but you don’t want it too tight, particularly on younger animals. You need to provide some room to grow. On mature cows, I don’t expect to have to ever adjust them, but on our bred heifers and our younger animals, I do expect that we’ll have to adjust them once or twice until maturity.”

Advantages of the Halter system

Hittinger said he has found many benefits with the Halter system, including being able to manage the location of the cattle virtually.

“I can do it from wherever I am,” he said.

Hittinger can also divide feeding into certain blocks.

“If I want to do one-day blocks, I could feed, say, five one-day blocks of feed. Or I could do a week’s worth, say, seven blocks of feed. Right now, we’re feeding five silage bales a day. I can roll out five bales in each of the seven paddocks and then have it so the virtual fence moves every day at a set time, whenever I decide that should be,” he said.

The primary benefit is that Hittinger can move his cattle without a physical fence.

“For winter feeding, that makes swath grazing quite a bit easier. That makes bale grazing quite a bit easier because I don’t have to go wading through the snow and worry about the cattle pushing on the electric wire, or all the issues surrounding fencing in a winter-feeding system, frozen posts and all that,” he said.

His bred heifers and second calvers that have higher nutritional needs can be put in a group.

“I will go out and feed the bulk of all of these animals in one group, but those animals that need extra nutrition, I give those animals access to a separate area where they can get better hay,” he said.

In the summer, Hittinger will be able to rotational graze and move his cattle using half-day moves, one-day moves or three-day moves, or whatever else he wants to try.

“Trees in the way don’t matter because I just snap a line on a map and that’s where the fence is. The big advantage to this is that I can put fences where I couldn’t necessarily put fences before,” he said.

Hittinger said he hasn’t seen a lot of disadvantages to the Halter system but added there is a training period for cattle to learn the system.

It is subscription-based, and each collar costs $97. Towers must also be purchased, and they are about $6,000 each. Gallagher collars are about $350 to $400, depending on how many collars are used.

Producers will be able to access the Halter system in Canada, and Halter is ramping up production, said Hittinger.

He added that producers still need to have a perimeter fence, even if they are using virtual fencing. When there is a windstorm, or lightning, cattle will scatter and cross the virtual fence.

He said that the Halter system will be eligible under OFCAF funds for the new funding year, which opens on April 10.

The Canadian Forage and Grassland Association also has funds available for producers who want to try the Halter system.

Hittinger has funding to run his Halter system for one year but said he will pay for the system himself once the funds run out.