This is an illustrative scenario that shows how HerdWhistle® Tags are designed to work on big or leased range. It describes no specific customer, and it reports no results.
The problem: big country, few eyes
Picture a cow-calf and yearling operation running cattle across deeded pasture, a provincial grazing lease and a federal allotment. The cows calve on the home place and then head out to summer range. The yearlings go to a separate lease. The bulls go out for breeding season and come home in the fall. Some of that country is hours from the yard by truck and horse, and most of it has no cell coverage.
That set-up is common, and so are the problems that come with it:
- Public and leased land is huge. The US Bureau of Land Management manages livestock grazing on 155 million acres of public land under nearly 18,000 permits and leases, spread over more than 21,000 allotments. Permits and leases generally run for 10 years and are renewed only if their terms and conditions are being met.
- Leases come with obligations. In Alberta, grazing dispositions cover more than 8 million acres of Crown land. Holders submit a stock return every year to report the livestock on the land, graze within approved capacity and keep fences in good repair. Knowing where your animals are, and how many are out there, is part of being a good leaseholder.
- Losses go unnoticed. USDA estimated that almost 3.9 million US cattle and calves were lost to all causes in 2015, at a value of $3.87 billion. The same report notes that cattle on beef operations are not observed as often as cattle on dairy or mixed operations, so deaths there can go unnoticed. Theft accounted for about 24,000 head that year, and weather-related causes for 9.3% of nonpredator deaths in adult cattle.
- Predators target the young. The share of calf deaths attributed to predators rose steadily, from 3.5% in 1995 to 11.1% in 2015. On beef operations it was nearly 16%.
- Theft follows price. With cattle prices at record highs, trade press has warned that cattle have become a target. It has also pointed out that thieves can easily remove ordinary ear tags, and it advises producers to check and count often.
- Labour is short. Canada's beef industry had more than 1,300 job vacancies at peak season in 2022, mainly because of rural locations and a lack of skilled applicants. Half of beef employers could not find all the workers they needed, and the peak-season labour gap is projected to pass 2,600 workers by 2030.
Put together, the hard part of running big or leased range is not the cattle. It is the time it takes to find them, count them and check on them. Riding fence and doing head counts on remote pasture eats days, and a problem animal can go unseen for a long time between checks.
The approach: one Tag per animal, sized to fit
HerdWhistle® Tags are ear tags that track livestock using their own satellite connectivity and communication modules, so no collar is needed. Each Tag is solar-charged, which means there is no battery to replace. Every Tag carries its own satellite link, so it does not depend on cell towers, a base station or a gateway placed on the range. Wherever the animal goes, the Tag reports from it.
No single tag suits a 200 kg yearling and a 1,500 kg bull, so the Tags come in four sizes, each matched to a weight range:
- HerdWhistle® 1000 Tag: the largest ear tag, for animals from 400 to 1,800 kg.
- HerdWhistle® 500 Tag: a medium ear tag, for animals from 150 to 900 kg.
- HerdWhistle® 250 Tag: a small ear tag, for animals from 25 to 450 kg.
- HerdWhistle® 100 Tag: a tiny ear tag, for animals from 5 to 175 kg.
Cue features vary by size and are listed on the Tag page. This scenario focuses on tracking and alerts.
Matching sizes to the herd in this scenario
Our illustrative operation splits its cattle into three groups on three kinds of range. Here is how a producer might pick a size for each group.
Yearlings on the summer lease
Yearlings put on weight all season, so pick a size for where they will finish, not where they start. A light group going out in spring that stays under 450 kg through fall fits the 250 Tag. Heavier yearlings, or any group expected to pass 450 kg before they come home, fit the 500 Tag, which covers 150 to 900 kg. Yearlings are often the group least familiar with the country, and the group thieves find most attractive, so they are a natural place to start tracking.
Cows on the allotment
Mature cows usually fall well inside the 500 Tag range of 150 to 900 kg. That makes it the default for most of the cow herd. A very large cow nearing the top of that range may suit the 1000 Tag better. Because each cow carries her own satellite link, a cow that wanders into a far draw or across a boundary keeps reporting.
Bulls for breeding season
Mature bulls are the heaviest and most valuable animals on the range, and they cover a lot of country during breeding season. The 1000 Tag is built for animals from 400 to 1,800 kg. That gives bulls a tag sized for them, rather than one stretched from a smaller animal.
What about calves?
Calves at side can carry the 100 Tag (5 to 175 kg) or the 250 Tag (25 to 450 kg), depending on age and weight. Producers who would rather fit a collar to larger animals can look at the CattleShield™ collar, which is for animals of 150 kg and up.
Working alongside the official ID tag
A HerdWhistle® Tag does not replace your official ID tag. It works alongside it.
- In Canada, cattle need an approved tag before they leave their farm of origin, under the national Livestock Identification and Traceability Program. Producers also have to replace lost tags and report certain tag events to the responsible administrator.
- In the United States, official eartags sold or applied on or after November 5, 2024 must be both visually and electronically readable when they are used as official identification for covered cattle and bison moving interstate.
Those rules stay exactly as they are. Your official tag keeps doing its job for traceability, sale barns and movement records. The HerdWhistle® Tag adds something the official tag was never designed to do: report where the animal is from the range, wherever it is.
What the rancher sees
In this scenario, the producer opens their HerdWhistle® analytics at the end of the day instead of loading a horse:
- Location. Each tagged animal shows on a map with its latest reported position. Producers can see at a glance which group is where on the lease or allotment.
- Alerts. The system flags events worth a look, such as an animal leaving a set boundary, an animal that has stopped moving as expected, or a Tag that may no longer be on the animal.
- Counts. Because each Tag reports separately, the producer can compare the number of animals reporting in each area against what should be there. That helps with the frequent counts that trade press and lease rules both point to.
- Movement and grazing patterns. Over a season, location history shows where cattle spend their time, which can help with grazing decisions and stock returns.
None of this replaces a good hand on a good horse. What it changes is where that hand rides. Instead of checking every corner of the range, the producer can go straight to the animals and places the alerts point to.
Cost and how to reserve
One plan
There is one plan: US$90 per head per year, covering satellite airtime and full analytics. It is billed yearly in advance and renews automatically.
Tag pricing
Tag prices are per unit in US dollars, EXW Calgary, and are listed on the HerdWhistle® Tag page. The price band is set by the quantity of each Tag model in one order. Shipping, insurance, taxes, duties and tariffs are extra. For example, the reserve page shows 50 HerdWhistle® 500 Tags at $162 each, for a total of $8,100 and a 20% deposit of $1,620. In that example, 50 head on the plan would be $4,500 a year.
Pre-sales windows
HerdWhistle® Tags are offered through pre-sales, which open with a 20% deposit. There are two build windows:
- Deposit paid by 11:59 PM MT, February 25, 2027: ships on or before June 30, 2027, in time for the 2027 grazing season.
- Deposit paid by 11:59 PM MT, August 12, 2027: ships on or before November 30, 2027.
The 80% balance is due 14 days after you receive the ready-for-pickup notice. Invoices can be paid by card through Stripe or by bank transfer through Wise. There is no online checkout. We confirm the Tag model for each animal group on your Order Confirmation.
Pickup
Orders are EXW (Ex Works) from our shipping door at Bay 16, 49 Aero Drive, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2E 8Z9. Pick up your order yourself, or send your own courier or carrier to collect it.
Planning checklist for big or leased range
- List each group (calves, yearlings, cows, bulls) with its expected weight range for the season.
- Match each group to a Tag size, choosing for end-of-season weight, not turnout weight.
- Keep every official ID tag in place. The HerdWhistle® Tag goes alongside it.
- Decide which group to start with. Yearlings on a distant lease and bulls in breeding season are common choices.
- Pick the build window that lands Tags before turnout.
Ready to plan your range? Reserve your HerdWhistle® Tags by requesting a 20% deposit invoice, or write to presales@herdwhistle.com with your herd mix and we will help you match sizes.
Sources
- US Bureau of Land Management: Livestock Grazing on Public Lands
- Government of Alberta: Operating Standards for Alberta's Crown Land Grazing Dispositions
- USDA APHIS NAHMS: Death Loss in U.S. Cattle and Calves Due to Predator and Nonpredator Causes, 2015
- DTN/Progressive Farmer: Due to Record High Prices, Cattle a Target (May 2025)
- Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council: Beef Labour Market Information and Forecast 2023–2030
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency: Requirements for Livestock Producers, Livestock Identification and Traceability Program
- Federal Register: Use of Electronic Identification Eartags as Official Identification in Cattle and Bison (USDA APHIS final rule, 2024)
- HerdWhistle® Tag product page and HerdWhistle® pre-sales and reservation terms
