I Went for a Walk ...

I worked late in town last night, but it was still beautiful when I made it back to the farm. So beautiful in fact that I decided to just leave the evening chores for after dark and go for a walk ... or should I say that I decided to go for a hunt ... Yes, hunt is the better description because what I was really doing is trying to hunt down my wayward sheep. And, by the wayward sheep I mean all of the sheep! Lately they have decided that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, and in their defense it is, so they have been taking off. I should also point out that it really is my fault that they have a wandering eye because I don't have my hi-tensile perimeter fence on yet.

This past winter was a little more rough on the fence than I had hoped. Not that anything major happened, but the deer popped the fence staples out of the wood posts and there are a few shorts along the line that I need to take care of. When the snow was on the ground nobody was really interested in leaving the comfortable confines of the winter lot, but now things are a little different and the sheep are ready to go (even if the pastures aren't ready for them yet).

I thought I had solved the problem by adding some Gallagher electric netting around the perimeter, but I guess the sheep aren't to impressed by the non-electrified netting. You have to get up pretty early in the morning to put one past them! So, tonight after my evening stroll through the neighboring fields I decided it was time to get electricity to the fence ... even if it was only a little bit of electricity.

One of the major "problems" that occurred this winter was that the pigs got ahold of the electrical cord on my good Stafix fencer. Luckily it wasn't a major breakdown and I'm in the process of ordering a replacement now. But, my back up fencer is much less than half as powerful. Right now though it will have to try and do the trick. I fixed the perimeter in the most needed places and threw on the back up fencer ... it's going ... kind of ...

Now it is time to get the real fixes done. Part of the reason that I hadn't attacked the fence yet is that I was hoping to take care of a few things on the fence that just weren't quite up to par. When I put up the fence I was trying to rush and save money ... both of which didn't really work out. This spring I'm going to have to add some extra support posts in the corners especially to help shore everything up and try and reduce the pull on the corners. Since I need to do this I hadn't gone around yet this spring to tighten up the fence and fix a few of the insulators. I realize now that I just need to find the time and the money and get it done! 

Or I could always just learn to enjoy the evening walks ... 

Putting Up Some Fence

No, I'm not putting any fence up just yet (and my plans may take a step back if we get the snow they are calling for on Friday), but we have settled on a bit of a fencing plan. We are in need of about 1/2 mile of exterior fence along two sides of our property that borders the road and then a diagonal line of fence along the woods. Of course we could have just put up straight shots around the entire property, but that would have taken to many hours on a bulldozer so we are going to just fence along the woods.

Thanks to Gary at PowerFlex we now have a plan that goes something like this... On the exterior fence we will have six strands of hi-tensile wire. There will be wood hedge posts at the corners, around the turn of the property, and anywhere there is big terrain change. For line posts we are going to go with 1 1/4" x 66" PowerFlex posts (we could and we might go with the 1 5/8" bull posts) spaced at about 30 feet. I'm not exactly sure on the spacing of the wires, but will check with Gary to see what he recommends for the livestock that we have/will have.

Along the woods we are going to use three wires (and some gates most likely so I can do some flash grazing in the brush) and the 1 1/4" x 60" PowerFlex posts. There will probably be some hedge posts thrown in along the line at the major bends and such. I like the idea of the three wires because it allows us to be a bit flexible down there.

As far as interior fencing goes I think we are going to go with some of the Management Intensive Grazing basics. We will have some tread-in posts, wire or polybraid, and some reels for quick setup and tear down. At this point we aren't going to do much in the way of permanent interior fencing so we have some time to really understand our pastures.

This bad boy of a system will be powered by a 6 Joule fencer (most likely a Stafix brand) that ought to provide a shocking mental barrier to our livestock.

I've got to tell you that I am very thankful for the help that they have been at PowerFlex and I really get the feeling that their product is as good as their service. This spring (if it ever completely comes) I'll have a good series of posts on the process and lots of pictures. So, stay tuned!

Thursday's Farm Update

We don't have a ton to update on the farm progress this week because we had around 5 inches of rain in the last week or so (maybe more, but I don't have a rain gauge out at the farm). As you can see the picture above the house looks about the same except that it is ready for the concrete slab to be poured. Having the slab down is a huge step because after that our builder can come back in and finish up the windows, doors, siding, and roof. If we can get the concrete done and our other work the basic structure should be done pretty soon. Now we just pray for NO rain (I know I shouldn't say that) and pray that a couple little snags can take care of themselves (the fact that we are first time general contractors pops up every now and again).

Other than the building we have good news from the garden. Just like other gardeners and farmers in our area we have been fighting water all spring and summer, but a couple weeks ago we were to put in a few things out at the farm ... for fun if anything. Now we have beans, corn, and pumpkins taking off. We also planted some tomatoes, peppers, and yams that we had been growing in pots since early spring. Of course the upper 80's and the high humidity have helped things really pop.

The last thing that I finished up this week was clearing the grass/brush from the areas where I'm going to put the fence. And, I think I finally have it all planned out... Basically we have slightly less than a half mile of high tensile electric to put up along the roads and then I'm going to just run two or three hot wires along the edge of the woods with steel t-posts. The million dollar question right now is what posts I am going to use for my line posts on the high tensile exterior fence.

For some time I have been thinking about using Powerflex posts ... and I think I do want to go ahead with them even though the cost is a little more. Now I just need to figure out how to get them in Iowa and pray that freight/shipping doesn't kill the deal. Has anyone used Powerflex posts?

High Tensile Electric Fence

Well, after my fence post on Saturday it was pointed out in the comments that I had forgotten "high tensile electric fence". I blame it on my "Iowa Farming Bias" (I really don't, but it is a good excuse). Basically what I mean is that as I drive the roads of Iowa and look at fencing I always see the same thing ... woven wire with a couple of barbs on the top. That is pretty much standard fencing in Iowa, so I admit even with all the reading and researching I have done the "Iowa Standby" was the first and only thing that popped into my head. But, after being reminded of the other options out there I dove in and started reading.

One thing I found out right away is that when you Google "high tensile electric fence" or even "how to install high tensile electric fence" you end up with a lot of links to companies selling the product! But, I picked through and did as much reading as I could on sites trying to sell the product and extension agency type of sites giving basic information about high tensile. I would say that there isn't one good source when it comes to this type of fencing, although I think that is true when it comes to beginning farming in general (that is one of the reasons I started the blog).

Here is what I have "learned" ... High tensile seems to be more economical than conventional woven wire or barbed wire fences. It requires a smaller number of posts. You can have it all electrified, partially electrified, or not electrified. High tensile fencing originated in New Zealand. It holds up better than some of the other options, and is easier to install. Those are some of the basic facts that I found in a short afternoon of reading, but I have so many more questions!

Some of the things that I am wondering:

-I have Dexter cattle and expect to have pigs and sheep. How many wires should I think about using? How many should be electrified?

-I have read about those "flex" posts that a few companies are selling. They look pretty nice and are about the same price as t-posts. Should I use those or stick with the old standby?

-Does anyone know of a good book or pamphlet on how to install the fencing?

-I have seen some cost comparisons and read from others that it is less expensive, but what exactly are we talking about? How much per foot realistically?

-How about post spacing? I read that you can do 40 to 50 feet! Is that true?

Of course I'm wondering so much more, but I just thought I would throw those questions out for debate. Other suggestions are welcomed also. I am not set in stone on the high tensile fence, but it does sound very intriguing. If you are interested in some of the sites I used for research check out these links:

"How 2 Articles" at the PowerFlex Website

"High Tensile" section of the Max-Flex Website

"Construction of High Tensile Wire Fences" by the University of Florida Extension

"Why Build High Tensile Fences" from the Ken Cove Website

Like I said three of the four links come from manufacturers, but they were helpful. I think the best links is the top Powerflex site. The links there are pretty good and a couple of them are from outside sources.