By Tracy Robillard, NRCS; and Devony Lehner, Homer SWCD

Herding cattle in Alaska can be a challenge, especially considering most of the state is not connected to a contiguous road system. Getting cows out to remote rangelands requires herding or trucking them for long distances, and once they are there, it can be difficult to monitor their movements as they traverse vast, rugged landscapes with limited options for human access. 

A team of ranchers on Alaska’s Southern Kenai Peninsula are seeking innovative solutions to monitor cattle on the 16,000-acre Fox River Flats state grazing lease area. The land is owned by the State of Alaska and is managed by the Fox River Cattlemen's Association (FRCA).

The ranchers typically put their cattle out in early May, after spring green-up. They release four herds totaling about 300 cattle. The grazing lease area is remote and relatively inaccessible, particularly areas on the far side of the Fox River. Cattlemen gather their herds in October or early November, depending on range conditions, and drive or haul them to overwinter at their ranches. 

Ranchers with the FRCA teamed up with their local conservation district, the Homer Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), to apply for funding to field test new technologies that track cattle movements using global positioning system (GPS) data.

They applied for and received a Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The grant allowed them to identify, demonstrate and field test GPS technologies and determine how effective, useful, reliable and user-friendly they are in sending real-time GPS data about cattle locations to online mapping applications. 

Over a three-year period, they tested three kinds of GPS tracking systems: two collar-mounted systems from Smarter Technologies in England; and one ear tag system from Ceres Tag in Australia.

To be considered for testing, tracking systems had to be commercially available, off-the-shelf, affordable, able to provide GPS information in real time, user friendly, and able to work in remote areas of extensive rangeland where cell phone coverage is not available.

The work was accomplished by a collaborative team consisting of Devony Lehner, natural resource specialist with the Homer SWCD, and four ranchers who make up the FRCA: Otto Kilcher, current FRCA president; Chris Rainwater, current FRCA secretary; Mark Marette, current FRCA treasurer; and Akaky Martushev. Karin Sonnen, NRCS state range management specialist, provided technical guidance and oversight. Kyra Wagner, Homer SWCD district manager, provided administrative oversight. 

Of the two types of collar-mounted units tested, one was a gateway unit—packaged as either a black box or plastic tube hanging off the collar; and the other was a small, white rectangular direct-to-satellite (DtS) unit attached to the top of the collar. Cattlemen installed both types of the units on 16 cows, four from each of the four herds. 

The gateway units were expected to send GPS cattle locations to an antenna mounted on a remote cabin. Inside the cabin, a receiver was wired to both the antenna and a router designed to send GPS data to the internet. A router diode blew out during initial set up in the cabin; and despite returning to the cabin twice to re-connect the repaired router, FRCA and Homer Soil and Water were unable to get the gateway system operational.

The other collar-mounted unit, the DtS system, transmitted twice daily directly to satellites and then to the internet. This system was found to be more effective than the gateway unit. The DtS devices sent GPS coordinates every 12 hours and each unit provided about 180 locational data points during the grazing season. The data feeds into an application, which allows users to generate various maps showing cattle locations over selected time periods. 

The third system was a GPS direct-to-satellite solar powered ear tag unit, which was tested on 24 cows. Each tag had a built-in solar panel and required sufficient sun exposure to be charged and properly activated.  Once they were installed, 21 of the 24 tags operated during some or all the grazing season, and some were still operational the following year. Data was mapped on a web application. 

The cattlemen were generally satisfied with both kinds of DtS systems and the data they could access using the mapping applications.  They were particularly positive about the Ceres ears tags, but a few failed to activate, and a few came apart and fell off the animals once they were out on the lease. 

Overall, the project was a useful field test that has paved the way for more innovation to collect and analyze herd patterns. The application of this project is already at work as the FRCA works with the State of Alaska and other partners to update the Fox River Flats grazing management plan. Cattlemen bought GPS ear tags to install before the 2025 grazing season. 

The information has also been shared with other grazing groups, including the Kawerak Reindeer Herder’s Association from the Nome, Alaska, area who are doing some field tests with the ear tag technology as well.

Whatever the future of grazing areas in Alaska, ongoing awareness and use of innovative technologies can contribute in critical ways to the value and conservation of these lands and the benefits they provide. Technologies such as those tested in this study can promote long-term environmental quality and sustainability of pastures and rangelands by informing managers to better carry out grazing management while improving health and productivity of animals—both domestic and wild—that live on these lands and waters.

For more information about the Conservation Innovation Grant program, visit the Alaska CIG webpage.