Cowboys in the American West are increasingly managing cattle not just from horseback, but from smartphones and with artificial intelligence.
Why it matters: AI won't be the end of cowboys. But AI-adjacent tools help fewer people manage more land, quietly redefining the job by turning cattle, fences and water systems into data streams.
- The technology being marketed as "AI for ranching" uses GPS collars, algorithms and remote sensors to move herds, monitor water and rotate grazing as labor shortages, drought and wildfire pressure mount.
How it works: Solar-powered smart GPS collars from the New Zealand-based company Halter guide cattle through virtual fences instead of barbed wire.
- Combined with mobile and cloud software, ranchers can view and adjust grazing areas and monitor animal locations from a smartphone at home or in a bar in real time.
- Halter assesses the ranch and sets up a tower so that cowboys have access to livestock 24/7, and can even be notified if any have been victims of depredations (killed by predators such as coyotes, wolves or bears).
Meanwhile, Ranchbot's satellite-IoT monitoring systems provide remote data on water tanks, pumps, and infrastructure, allowing ranchers to manage water resources from afar, even in areas with weak cell service.
- Sensors transmit near-real-time water level and status data to apps and dashboards, so users can see water availability without driving out to tanks.
- Together, the tools aim to reduce hours spent driving, fencing, and checking livestock, while giving ranchers tighter control over where and when animals graze.
State of play: Western ranchers face growing constraints, like rising costs to maintain fencing and water systems.
- Foreign competition from Australia, Argentina and Brazil is also adding to the anxiety of ranches seeking greater efficiency.
Zoom out: Halter has expanded into nearly half of the states in the U.S. and into more than 200 ranches, and raised $100 million as it bets that labor shortages will accelerate adoption.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) conservation programs and public-lands managers are beginning to recognize virtual fencing as a legitimate grazing tool.
- Conservation groups see potential benefits in wildlife corridors and in protecting sensitive habitat, especially where physical fencing is costly or controversial.
What they're saying: "The biggest misconception is that we're going to be ranching from the couch," Theo Beaumont, Halter's head of partnerships in the U.S., tells Axios.
- Beaumont said ranchers are using the system less to automate decisions and more to save time by cutting back on fence checks and long drives so they can focus on grazing strategy and animal health.
- Lauren Sizemore of Lone Star Ranch in Kneeland, Calif., tells Axios that virtual fencing finally allowed her family to implement rotational grazing they'd pursued for generations.
- "With our terrain and rainfall, physical fencing just kept failing. Virtual fencing has been life-changing for our operation," said Sizemore, a 6th-generation rancher.
The other side: Frank Tuyttens, an animal-welfare scientist who studies precision livestock farming, has warned that automated systems can introduce new risks if over-relied on.
- Virtual fencing often relies on sound cues and electric pulses to train animals.
Yes, but: AI ranching companies insist the systems reduce stress overall.
- "Once people understand the system is based on predictability, consistency and trust, (like) using sound and vibration first, not just an electric pulse, most concerns fall away," Beaumont said.
- "Watching the cows come up to a virtual fence, it's really not a big deal," Sizemore said. "They hear the tone and just walk away. I haven't seen anything concerning from an animal-welfare standpoint."
- Sizemore added that the collars are designed to break away if caught on branches, which she says reassured her about animal safety in heavily wooded terrain.
