This article describes a case study of virtual herding and digital fencing technology implementation for goats in Norway. With the abolishing of physical fences, the goats can roam free in a physical sense, but in the digital realm, they are controlled by a virtual fence. The virtual fence, or digital boundary, is set by the famers and interacts with a collar around the goats’ necks. The collar first give a sound signal and thereafter a small electric shock if the goats cross a boundary, resulting in the creation of new classifications and orderings of reality. This article focuses on what this disruption means for contemporary goat farming in terms of practices, perceptions and policies of (smart) farming, as well as how the goats themselves are given new meanings and ways of being. We analyze this with the theoretical concept of “boundary object” and see how goats, which contain a multiplicity of agency and autonomy, are transformed by smart-farming technologies. Collaboration and interaction are made possible despite the fact that the actors have widely different goals. Through negotiations between multiple actors, a new type of goat emerges between nature-, culture- and technology. We conceptualize this as “CyborGoat.” This boundary object facilitates new everyday agricultural settings, which brings new benefits and issues for different stakeholder actors involved.

本文介绍了挪威山羊虚拟放牧和数字围栏技术实施的案例研究。随着物理围栏的废除，山羊可以在物理意义上自由漫游，但在数字领域，它们受到虚拟围栏的控制。虚拟围栏或数字边界由农民设置，并与山羊脖子上的项圈互动。如果山羊越过边界，项圈首先发出声音信号，然后发出轻微的电击，从而产生新的分类和现实秩序。本文重点讨论这种颠覆对当代山羊养殖的（智能）养殖实践、观念和政策意味着什么，以及山羊本身如何被赋予新的意义和存在方式。我们用“边界对象”的理论概念来分析这一点，看看山羊是如何被智能农业技术改造的，山羊具有多重代理和自主性。尽管参与者的目标大相径庭，但协作和互动成为可能。通过多个参与者之间的谈判，在自然、文化和技术之间出现了一种新型山羊。我们将其概念化为“CyborGoat”。这个边界对象促进了新的日常农业环境，为不同的利益相关者带来了新的好处和问题。通过多个参与者之间的谈判，在自然、文化和技术之间出现了一种新型山羊。我们将其概念化为“CyborGoat”。这个边界对象促进了新的日常农业环境，为不同的利益相关者带来了新的好处和问题。通过多个参与者之间的谈判，在自然、文化和技术之间出现了一种新型山羊。我们将其概念化为“CyborGoat”。这个边界对象促进了新的日常农业环境，为不同的利益相关者带来了新的好处和问题。