Herding in ranch operations: an analysis of a search problem

Abstract

Herding is an integral part of ranch operations in contemporary times. An aspect of herding that has received scant attention in the literature concerns the pros and cons of searching for livestock animals that have wandered away from a pasture and are hence missing from this pasture. Under what circumstances should a rancher search for these missing animals? This paper provides the first theoretical analysis of this question. Specifically, a formal model is constructed and examined that provides conditions under which it makes sense to search for these missing animals and conditions under which it does not.