So… Does Virtual Fencing Actually Work?

Guest Post By Brandon Arpan, The Box X Ranch | Published on okanaganranchandfence.ca

* * *Editor’s Note
Brandon Arpan runs The Box X Ranch in Montana – shortgrass prairie country with extreme temperatures, BLM grazing allotments, and the kind of conditions that don’t forgive technology that doesn’t perform. We asked him to share his experience with Gallagher eShepherd virtual fencing because his results speak for themselves, and because the questions he was asking before he started are the same ones we hear from BC ranchers every week.
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So… Does Virtual Fencing Actually Work?

Let me start with the two questions I get asked more than anything:
Does it work?
Is it worth it?
For us, the answer to the first is a definite yes and the answer to the second is an emphatic yes. But I know that alone doesn’t mean much, because if you’re considering virtual fencing, you’re probably wondering whether it’ll work on your place, in your conditions, with your cattle.
That’s exactly where we were not that long ago.

From Skepticism to Something We Rely On

We run in a pretty unforgiving environment: shortgrass prairie, limited rainfall, extreme temperatures, and a mix of private, state, and federal government (BLM) ground. It’s not a place where ideas survive long unless they prove themselves quickly.
When we started with virtual fencing, we weren’t trying to reinvent the operation; we just wanted to see if it could help us manage our grazing scheme better and give us a little more flexibility.
Over time, it has done far more than that. It consistently holds at around 99% containment, even as conditions changed. That consistency is really what built trust for us, because like almost all ranches, nothing about our operation is simple or uniform.

Where We Really Saw the Difference

If there’s one place where virtual fencing has clearly separated itself for us, it’s in animal performance – especially in years when conditions aren’t average.

In 2024, we were in a drought year. Most of our neighbors saw about a 15-pound drop in weaning weights across their calves from their historical averages.

We saw a drop too – but it was only about 5 pounds.
Then 2025 flipped the script. We had an amazing rainfall year – around 18.5 inches, compared to our normal 11-12. It came late, so hay production didn’t really benefit the way you’d hope, but the grass response was there.

That year, we saw about an 80-pound increase over our historical average weaning weights.
Most of our neighbors? They were closer to a 20-pound increase.

That’s not a small difference. And from our perspective, it ties directly back to being able to control grazing pressure, timing, and pasture utilization much more precisely than we ever could before.

Essentially, because the cattle were consistently getting the best available forage for the best case scenario at any point in the year, their milk was as rich as it could be – this helped supercharge calf growth. Our calves developed a herd mentality of their own, ranging up to a mile away from their mothers by weaning time, creep grazing ahead of the cows selecting for the best available forage that hadn’t been touched by any livestock in that year. Between mothers milk and creep grazing, we’ve been seeing it as a one-two punch that is hitting our pocket book in a good way.

That’s when it really clicked for us – this isn’t just about holding cattle. It’s about managing outcomes.

It’s Not Just About Replacing Fence

Most people see virtual fencing as something that will replace physical fences. And while that is becoming a reality, it’s not the whole story.
Where it started to change things for us was in how we could manage grazing on a day-to-day basis:

• Running multiple mobs in a single pasture without building more fence
• Adjusting grazing pressure in real time, instead of reacting after the fact
• Giving certain areas true rest that hadn’t seen that kind of rest in over 100 years
• Targeting specific problem areas like cheatgrass or weed pressure
• Managing riparian zones without permanent infrastructure

Instead of being locked into fixed fences, we started making decisions based on what the land needed in the moment – and that flexibility is where a lot of the gains come from.

The Labor Side of the Equation

Another thing that became obvious pretty quickly was the impact on time and labor.
There’s just less that physically has to happen:

• Less fence to build, check, and maintain
• Fewer hours spent gathering or trailing cattle
• When you do check on your animals, they are all in one spot and not spread over thousands of acres – no more searching hours for every critter
• The ability to move animals without needing to be there every time

We’ve gotten to the point where we always move our cattle directly from the app. We’ve even split one group into two multiple times without any hands-on pressure.

It doesn’t eliminate management – it enhances it, because it makes every hour you spend go further. And that’s hard to put a price on.

Animal Health, Behavior, and the Learning Curve

This was one of our bigger concerns early on, and I think that’s true for most people.
What we found is that success here really comes down to doing the fundamentals right:

• Making sure the fitment is correct from the start
• Giving cattle time to learn the system without rushing it
• Starting smaller when possible to build consistency

Once cattle understand the cue – the warning tone followed by a stimulus if needed – it becomes predictable for them and as normal as the blowing Montana wind.
From what we’ve seen:

• No negative behavior during calving
• No drop in conception rates
• Around 98% neckband retention year-round
• Built-in alerts for down animals or equipment issues

And in some cases, like we mentioned earlier, we’ve seen improvements in calf performance, which we believe ties back to more consistent grazing management.

Real-World Conditions: Not Just Ideal Scenarios

It’s easy for technology to look good under perfect conditions. What matters is how it performs when things aren’t ideal.
We’ve used virtual fencing through:

• Extreme winters (down to -60F)
• Breeding season, including collared bulls
• Stockpile grazing and bale grazing setups

And it hasn’t just held up – it’s helped us improve outcomes:

• Reduced winter feed requirements (we’ve seen 30-80% reductions depending on the year)
• Better utilization of available forage
• More control over grazing during tough conditions

That level of consistency across different scenarios is what builds long-term confidence.

Making It Pencil Out

At the end of the day, it has to make financial sense.
What we’ve seen is that the return doesn’t come from one single change – it’s the combination of several:

• Reduced labor over time
• Less fence to maintain or replace
• Improved grazing efficiency
• Reduced reliance on purchased or harvested feed

And then when you layer in performance gains – like the difference we saw in weaning weights – it starts to become a much clearer picture.
There are also additional opportunities:

• Increased AUM potential
• Cost-sharing or funding through NRCS and conservation groups

When you stack it all together, it becomes less of a question of if it pencils out, and more of how quickly. For us we thought it’d take about 5 years to see a return on investment. In reality it took a year and a half.

There’s No One Way to Use It

One thing that’s become really clear to us is that virtual fencing isn’t a one-size-fits-all system.
Different operations are using it in different ways:

•  Replacing interior fencing
• Improving grazing precision
• Managing difficult terrain
• Reducing labor bottlenecks

Others are leaning into:

• Wildlife and riparian management
• Custom grazing programs
• Integrating with other technologies over time

That flexibility is part of what makes it so powerful – it adapts to your operation, not the other way around.

Final Thought: Let It Prove Itself

If you’re hesitant about adopting virtual fencing, I get it. We had the same questions:

• Will it actually work here?
• Will the cattle adapt?
• Will it make a real difference?

What I’d say now is, you don’t have to answer all of that upfront.
Start small. Use it in a way that fits your operation. Let it prove itself under your conditions.
Because once you start to see results – whether that’s in time savings, pasture utilization, or even something as tangible as weaning weights – it changes how you think about what’s possible.
And from there, it’s hard to go back.

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About Brandon Arpan and The Box X Ranch
Brandon runs The Box X Ranch in Montana, where he and his family operate in some of the most demanding ranching country in North America. He has been one of the most thoughtful and generous voices in the virtual fencing conversation, sharing his real numbers and real results with the broader ranching community.
You can follow his operation and learn more here:

Website: boxxranch.com
Facebook: The Box X Ranch
YouTube: @boxxranch
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Thinking About Virtual Fencing for Your BC Ranch?
Get in touch for a no-pressure conversation, give us a call us at (250) 309-4955.

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