Virtual Fence decision support
Managing Virtual Fence Risk on Your Operation
Start with the management problem, not the technology. This resource helps livestock producers organize fencing and grazing decisions, compare virtual fencing with other realistic choices, and decide how much analysis the decision needs.
Choose your starting point
What are you trying to figure out?
Get oriented
I need to understand how to use this resource.
See what the project does, what it does not do, and where to begin.
Go to Start Here →Work a decision
I have a fencing or grazing problem to solve.
Use the three-question framework to organize the decision before comparing alternatives.
Open the decision framework →Begin with your operation
I want to take stock of where I am now.
Define the management problem, current resources, constraints, and risk exposure.
Start with Question 1 →Use the screening tool
I need the Risk Mitigation Filter.
Download the current RMF or its step-by-step instructions.
Download the RMF →The decision spine
Three questions keep the decision centered on your operation.
Where am I now?
Define the problem, current system, resources, constraints, and the risks already present.
Work through Question 1 →Where do I want to go?
Define what success means, what cannot be compromised, the time horizon, and the level of risk you can accept.
Work through Question 2 →What are the ways to get there?
Compare realistic alternatives—including status quo and hybrid approaches—on the same set of decision factors.
Work through Question 3 →Featured decision guides
Begin with the filter, then use more analysis only when the decision calls for it.
These materials are designed to work together. The RMF is the compact screen; the step-by-step bulletin explains how to complete and interpret it.
Risk Mitigation Filter
Compare the status quo and producer-selected alternatives across the current eight screening criteria.
Open the RMF →Completing the Risk Mitigation Filter
A step-by-step bulletin for rating alternatives, reading routing results, and completing the back page.
Open the guide →The RMF routes decisions to the appropriate existing RightRisk tool or specialist review rather than creating a parallel analysis here.
No preferred outcome
A good process can lead to any of five outcomes.
The purpose of this resource is better decision quality, not technology uptake. Each outcome below is a legitimate endpoint when it fits the operation and decision.
The alternative is not appropriate for this operation.
Postpone the decision until information, conditions, or resources change.
Use a time-bounded, reversible pilot with monitoring and failure triggers.
Use the alternative permanently on part of the operation while retaining other approaches elsewhere.
Use the alternative across the operation.
See the framework in use
Three cases, three different decision outcomes.
The cases demonstrate different decision contexts and different levels of analysis. None is presented as the preferred endpoint for another operation.
- RMF only
- Defer
Case — When the Timing Isn’t Right
A labor-limited home-meadow decision shows how screening can support deferral without deeper analysis.
Open Case →
- RMF + Risk Scenario Planning (RSP) Tool
- Trial
Case — No Fence, No Turnout?
A post-fire federal allotment decision evaluates a bounded 90-day trial under agency conditions and near-term uncertainty.
Open Case →
- RMF + Multi-Temporal Risk Analyzer (MTRA)
- Partial adoption
Case — Rough Country, High Costs, Hard Fencing Choices
A multi-year interior cross-fence decision compares different cost structures over time.
Open Case →