417 Impact of virtual fence technology on yearling steer behavior and performance

Abstract Virtual fencing (VF) has the capacity to transform the landscape of livestock management within extensive rangeland systems. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of Vence (Merck only steers assigned to the RG treatment were managed with VF boundaries and exposed to auditory and electrical cues from the collars. Raw data was downloaded from Vence Herd Manager through an automatic programming interface and cleaned by removing messages that failed to transmit correctly or were outside the bounds of study site pastures. Animal behavior metrics of daily distance traveled (DDT), daily grazing time, daily resting time, and daily walking time were calculated for each individual animal and averaged by pasture using Program R. Steer weights were collected using SmartScales (C-Lock Inc, Rapid City, SD). Average daily gain (ADG) was calculated using a linear model to develop a regression equation for each individual animal using weight as the dependent variable and day of trial as the independent variable. The slope of the regression line was used to estimate ADG. Individual DDT, behavior, and performance metrics were analyzed using a mixed model analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compare the impact of grazing treatment and stocking rate (fixed effects) with year as the random effect. Treatment did not influence (P 0.05) grazing, walking, or resting behavior. Similarly, no differences were detected in DDT between treatment groups or across different stocking rates. Furthermore, there were no differences (P 0.05) in ADG across treatment groups. Implementation of VF had no impact on animal behavior or performance, justifying its use in grazing settings; however, financial and cattle finishing aspects still need to be evaluated to determine its overall benefits and costs.