Fencing For Grazing
Systems
Jamie Kurtz
Resource Conservationist
USDA – NRCS
West Plains Field Office
FLEXIBILITY !!!
Types of Fence
 Barbed Wire
 Most common fence built
 Woven Wire
 Usually used for containment of sheep & goats
 Most expensive to install
 Electric
 Permanent
 Never removed
 High tensile
 Temporary
 Used for strip grazing
 Polywire
Reasons to Consider
Electric Fence
 Cost
 Usually costs up to 75% less to install
 Additional wires can be installed for around
10 cents per foot
 Requires less materials to install which in
turn means less labor
Reasons to Consider
Electric Fence
 Ease of construction
 Requires less labor to install
 Existing fields can be easily subdivided to
improve harvest efficiency and improve
forage production
 Allows for use of temporary fence to be used
when needed in certain situations
Reasons to Consider
Electric Fence
 Psychological Barrier
 Barbed wire is a physical barrier
 Fence doesn’t have to be fiddle string tight
 Improves disposition and makes animals
easier to handle
 Animals and handlers learn to respect the
fence
 You want their first experience with the electric
fence to be their last
Disclaimer
 All electric fence companies make some
good components, and some not so good
components.
 Don’t just choose one brand
 Shop around and get the good from all
companies and leave the junk on the shelf.
 As an agency, we are not able to
recommend any one brand over another.
Energizer
 Heart of the system
 Low impedance
charger
 5,000 volt minimum
output
 35-65 pulses per
second
 Intensity of less than
300 mAmps
How To Select An
Energizer
 Seek advise from others
 Experienced grazers
 Sales people
 NRCS or SWCD staff
 Always go with a bigger charger than you think
you need, as price allows.
 Keep an open mind
 Almost all companies make good stuff, as well as
junk!
Installation of Energizer
 Read and follow the manufacturers
recommendations for the installation.
 Ask local agency (NRCS / SWCD) personnel to
assist in installation of energy
 Use only galvanized ground rods
 Copper rods will cause corrosion and bad
connections
 Make sure that lightning protection is installed
correctly
 Manufacturer may not honor warranty if not installed
properly
Installation of Ground
Rods
 Make sure that
ground rods are
driven all the way in
the ground
 Rotary hammer
driver can be used to
install ground rods
 Some NRCS offices
will assist in
installation
Testing Your Ground Field
 Go out 300 feet on your fence from the charger
 Short fence out to 2,000 volts or less using tposts or anything metal
 Go back to the ground field and place a digital
volt meter on the last ground rod
 Reading should be zero, but up to 300 volts is
tolerable
 If reading is higher than that, more ground rods
need to be installed
Lightning Protection
 Lightning choke
 Home-made / bought
 Lightning arrestor
 Separate ground field
 At least 65’ from any
other ground field
 Need to have at least
1 more ground rod
than your charger
Wire
 Permanent




12.5 gauge high tensile wire
Class III galvanization
Minimum 110,000 psi strength
Try to avoid using 200,000 psi wire
 Temporary
 Use polywire with stainless steel conductors
 Minimum of 6-9 metal conductors
Permanent Fence
Temporary Fence
Strip Grazing
Strip Grazing
Temporary Fence
Creep Grazing
Creep Grazing
Fence Line Weaning
Observed Calf Behavior
3 Days Post-Weaning
and Cumulative Weight Gain

E. O. Price,2, J. E. Harris, R. E. Borgwardt, M. L. Sween and J. M.
Connor Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis and
University of California Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center,
Browns Valley
Insulators
 Porcelain or plastic
 Plastic
 Made of HDPE or
HDPP
 At least a 10 year
warranty
 Stay away from colors
 Avoid using garden or
hydraulic hose for
insulators
Underground Cable
 Used to go under
gates and as leadout wire from charger
 Make sure to use
double insulated
cable
 Stay away from
aluminum wire
 Can eventually go
bad
Tools
 Spinning Jenny
 Needed for handling rolls of high tensile wire
 Volt Meter
 Standard – just reads volts
 Fault Finder – reads both volts and amps
 Crimping Tool
 Needed for connecting the wire
 Wire Cutters
 Standard cutters and/or pliers won’t cut the high
tensile wire with out damage to the tool
Spinning Jenny
Volt Meter
Crimping Tool
Wire Cutter
Connectors
 Crimp Sleeves
 Bolt Connectors
 Knots
Knots For End Insulators
Gates
 Make gates so that they are “dead” when
unhooked
 Don’t carry electricity throughout the system
through the gates
 Bury double insulated underground cable in
conduit
 Use sweeps instead of elbows incase you ever
need to replace wire
 Keep water from running in the conduit using 90
degree elbows
Gates
 Choose a gate material that is durable
 1/8” cable
 Can drop it on the ground and run over it
with vehicles and machinery
 Make sure to use gate handles that have
a compression spring
 Other handles have a tendency to pull out
Gates
Gates
Line Post
 T-post
 Cons
 Extra cost of insulator on
top of post price
 Dead short if insulator
comes off of post
 Expensive for multistrand fences
 Pros
 Common
 Rigid
 Insulators are common
and easy to get
Line Posts
 Composite Posts
 Pros
 No need for insulator
 Self insulating
 Good for multi-strand
 Cons
 Can be difficult to get in
ground at times
 Will give some if under
stress
 May need to use t-post
if there is a slight bend
in fence
Strainers
 Daisy Wheels
 Placed in middle of run
 Use appropriate handle to
tighten
 Easy to use
 Ratchet Type
 Have to cut wire in middle
or place at end
 Good to use with floating
angle braces
Strainer Handles
Corners
 Floating Angle Brace
 Easy to install
 Brace needs to be 2 times as long as the height of the top wire
 H Brace
 Most common
 Overkill on most electric fence
 Single Driven Post
 Post must be 2 7/8” pipe driven greater than or equal to the
height of the top wire
 T-post
 Good for short runs of fence
 Can be permanent
Floating Angle Brace
Single Driven Post
T-Post Corner
Offsets
 Can be used to carry
electricity out to system
 Attaches to existing
fence
 Can allow temporary
fence to be used where
there is already existing
non-electric fence
 Can become a problem
if existing fence isn’t tight
enough to hold offset up
Electric Water Gap
Advantages of Electric
Fence
 Cost
 Ease of installation
 Improves disposition of both animals and
animal handlers
 Allows grazing system to remain more
flexible during seasonal variations in
grass growth
 Easier to repair and maintain
Repairing Fence
Repairing Fence
Things to Keep in Mind
 When building fence for cost share, remember
that the fence must be installed according to
NRCS standards and specifications.
 This isn’t barbed wire. We are building a
psychological barrier. The wire doesn’t need to
be fiddle string tight!
 There is a bit of a learning curve with high
tensile electric fence. Don’t get discouraged.
 Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Talk to other
farmers and agency personal for assistance if
you need it.