A new age method of keeping cows in check, especially on mountain farms, is attracting the attention of the ACRES agri-environmental scheme in Connemara and west Mayo.
It involves developing a virtual fence which can be controlled by a mobile phone app.
The catchphrase of waiting until the cows come home is etched in the language and folklore of rural Ireland.
Finding them in the hills of Connemara could be a step to far.
But science is catching up with the cows.
A collar secured around their necks and linked to your phone will tell you where they are, and another step is coming.
Work is ongoing on perfecting a means by which a virtual fence may be secured around the cows.
The boundary can be mapped into an app on a mobile phone.
As the cows come near the virtual fence, the collar plays soft music which reaches a crescendo if they go much farther.
If they virtually touch the virtual wall, they get a prod in the neck. They soon realise that there is no free music.
