Five miles northwest of Cal Poly, cows equipped with tiny GPS trackers are munching away in a golden field.
In this quiet scientific revolution on Cal Poly’s pastures, GPS collars transform livestock into high-tech data gatherers, revealing their every step and bite. Researchers and cattle managers then analyze the data to understand their behaviors.
Simply, these GPS collars show how the cattle are using the space they graze.
Cal Poly is currently expanding its research into new areas like Escuela Ranch near Cuesta College on Highway 1. Here, they plan to monitor cattle feeding behavior during the breeding season.
Under the guidance of professors Zach McFarlane and Julie Huzzey, the studies are an effective way to see which parts of the land the livestock prefer and which they tend to avoid; a project inspired by the long-term progression of rangeland management.
The goal is “to see what makes the cows happy,” McFarlane said.
This information helps researchers understand why certain areas might be less attractive for grazing, pointing to issues like undesirable plants or reseeding needs.
It is also important to identify animals that don’t graze as efficiently as the rest of the cattle, according to Cal Poly’s Beef Operations Manager Aaron Lazanoff.
Unlike traditional GPS devices that only track an animal’s location, these collars are outfitted with an accelerometer, which captures movements in three dimensions; like a Fitbit for cows.
The X and Y-axes measure vertical and horizontal movement, while the Z-axis detects when animals lower their heads to graze or drink.
Graduate students Jason Dubowsky and Amelia Katz from the College of Agriculture, Food, and Environmental Sciences are conducting research involving the collars.
Dubowsky studied herd grazing patterns during the breeding season at Cal Poly’s Escuela Ranch, while Katz focused on feeding behaviors at the Cal Poly Bull Test Program.
The collars “ping” locations every 10 minutes throughout the day. These points are connected using the Pythagorean theorem to create a timeline of the animals’ movements.
Accelerometers also help to monitor the health of livestock. If the sensors mark one that has been lying down for too long, it alerts the livestock manager.
“Just like when you or I are sick, we tend to rest more than when we are healthy,” Katz said. “Accelerometers exploit this to help with early disease detection.”
Cal Poly’s research team has found a more cost-effective solution using the HOBO Data Logger Accelerometer.
“There is much crazier tech out there, but some of the nice GPS collars can come out to $2,000 a piece, which we just don’t have the funding for,” McFarlane said.
These collars are designed to be both durable and affordable, making them ideal for long-term field studies. In a recent partnership, UC Davis borrowed Cal Poly’s HOBO GPS collars to conduct a similar monitoring project inspired by Cal Poly’s studies.
Aside from keeping cows happy, there is a strong call for understanding eating habits due to cost benefits and environmental reasons. Katz explained feed is the number one cost in beef cattle production.
“If cattle are more feed efficient, then ranchers and feedlot owners can spend less on feed, driving down production cost,” Katz said. “From an environmental perspective, driving down inputs like feed helps reduce the carbon footprint of the beef industry as a whole.”
This research goes far beyond just goats and cows.
“Many endangered species in California, such as the California tiger salamander, peacefully coexist with cattle and need cattle grazing to maintain their habitat,” McFarlane said.
In the future, they plan to publish their studies and abstracts in academic journals. They have a published abstract in the Journal of Animal Science about range land cow behavior.
Information on some of their other projects can be found on Katz’s website.