A new kind of fence is helping Enright Cattle Company near Tweed, Ontario, make the most of every acre. Instead of posts and wire, their boundaries now exist on a smartphone screen — and those virtual fences can be moved with a few taps on that screen instead of by hand in the field.
The Enrights are among the first Ontario beef producers to adopt virtual fencing technology, using solar-powered GPS collars that train cattle to stay within invisible boundaries. It’s innovation that’s helping them manage pastures more efficiently, expand their herd, and save time and money — all without hammering in a single fence post.
“Even in a drought year, we were able to keep cows out on pasture longer,” says co-owner Kara Enright, who farms with her husband Darold and children Corben and Evelyn. “We managed our grazing better, got more production off the land, and didn’t spend time or money building interior fences. It’s been a game-changer for us.”
The project was made possible through the Agri-Tech Innovation Initiative (ATII), and for Enright Cattle Company, virtual fencing offered a way to overcome one of their biggest barriers to growth: limited access to fenced pasture.
“Our biggest limitation to expanding the cow herd was pasture,” Enright explains. “A lot of the land we use is rented, and it doesn’t make sense to invest in permanent fencing there. We wanted a way to make better use of what we already have — or to graze areas that just weren’t practical to fence.”
Based on conversations with fellow producers already using the technology, the Enrights chose the eShepherd system by Gallagher. When cattle approach the invisible boundary, they first hear a warning beep; if they continue forward, they receive a mild pulse, prompting them to back away.
The virtual fence approach is ideal for rotational grazing on both owned and rented land, and can even be used on temporary feed crops, making it easier to graze cover crops or extend the grazing season in fall.
“It’s helping us get more out of the same land,” she says. “And it saves a lot of work. We don’t have to set up or move fencing every day.”
Virtual fencing has also allowed the Enrights to experiment with new grazing strategies. Calves, which are too small for collars, can move beyond the boundary lines to reach the best grass — a kind of natural “creep grazing” system that promotes growth and pasture efficiency.
ATII funding helped cover part of the equipment cost and made it feasible for the Enrights to test the technology.
“It’s a big investment, and we couldn’t have done it without the funding,” says Enright. “The support helped us take that step to try something new while reducing the financial risk.”
The Agri-Tech Innovation Initiative is delivered by the Agricultural Adaptation Council and funded in part by the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP), a five-year, federal-provincial-territorial initiative. It represents up to $22.6 million in investment from the governments of Canada and Ontario to expand production capacity and boost energy efficiency across the agriculture and food sector.
For Enright Cattle Company, the investment has already paid off.
“It’s about working smarter, not harder,” says Kara. “This technology gives us flexibility, better grazing management, and more confidence to grow. It’s the future of how we’ll manage cattle.”
ATII supports farms and food businesses adopting technology to expand production and improve efficiency — key goals of Ontario’s Grow Ontario Strategy, which aims to increase locally grown and prepared food by 30 per cent by 2032.