Herding cattle goes high-tech

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (AP) -- The tradition dates back to the Old West: A cowboy gently soothes his cattle with a simple song.

A researcher steadies a cow wearing a prototype of a headset which may help ranchers herd cattle remotely.

"Come on girls, let's go," the cowboy croons as he gathers his bovines from across the desert range. One day, this cowboy may not have to ride the range to corral his herd.

The "cowboy" is U.S. Department of Agriculture researcher Dean M. Anderson, who is working to corral cattle remotely through a high-tech device that funnels sounds directly to the animals.

It's Old West cattle herding with a 21st century twist -- part of a project involving the USDA and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the government's Jornada Experimental Range in southern New Mexico.

The wireless headset, called the "Ear-A-Round," has stereo earphones that transmit sounds directly into the cow's ears to guide its movement. Powered by a small solar energy panel, the unit contains a GPS device to monitor a cow's location and movement.

Researchers hope the device will give ranchers and farmers the ability to herd cattle from afar, said Daniela Rus, an MIT professor of electrical engineering and computer science who teamed with Anderson.

"It has the potential to give farmers a much finer control of pastures, finer management of where animals are and a better use of the land," said Rus, a robotics expert. "With this technology we can also find out what the animals do all day."

In essence, a rancher could stay in his air-conditioned office and check on the location of his animals by logging on to a computer. Another potential benefit would be eye-friendly vistas that have no fences.

The device works by using sound to keep an animal within a "virtual paddock" through GPS technology, Anderson said.

The first field test is scheduled for later this month at the Jornada range, using cows trained by Anderson.

The animal scientist has been working on remote herding technology for about 30 years. He previously created a patented Directional Virtual Fencing system to contain cattle movement using remote cues.

Anderson said the goal of the current research is to improve animal distribution on the landscape. Land can be abused by overgrazing and large animals overrunning sensitive areas.

"With virtual fencing, you would have the ability, in real time, to manage the animals across the landscape to avoid that situation," he said. "If there are areas that are overused, you could move an animal off those areas more rapidly."

The technology won't eliminate the need for cowboys; instead, the focus is to shift their labor from physical to cognitive.

Ranchers and cowhands will no longer have to spend time building and repairing fences. Instead, they'll devote more time to leading animals to areas with better nutrition while protecting natural resources.

"Virtual fencing could take all this labor included with removing physical, mundane barriers and focus more on management," Anderson said. "It's looking for the best management with the best skills that technology can provide."

Rus said it's important to first understand cow behavior to achieve the best results. Because cows tend to follow leaders, Anderson is working to identify herd leaders and outfit them with the device for the field test.

"If you try to get them to move from point A to point B and you don't understand their behavior, you're less likely to have success," Rus said.

The trial will focus on whether the animals can be gathered just by the sound of Anderson's voice.

Anderson has sung his song during training exercises to get the animals to move. If they pause for longer than a few seconds, he will use the song cue to get them moving again.

If the sound cues fail, the headset can give a small electrical shock to move unresponsive cows.

Rus and Anderson also plan to test other sounds as possible cues, including naturally repulsive sounds for cows such as barking dogs and hissing snakes.