Fencing Adventures
#bfrdpwy #aginternship #RightRisk
This week, I learned about wildlife-safe fencing. I have heard about it, but I didn’t know what the requirements were. My host runs cattle on some Bureau of Land Management divisions. They started building their own fence last year. They received grants from the Natural Resources Conservation Service through the U.S. Department of Agriculture to build wildlife-safe fencing that is still effective for cattle.
We built a 2-mile-long fence. We were able to bring a skid steer so we could use a post-pounder for the wooden posts. I thought it interesting that they used steel poles to make the braces for the fence. They weld together three steel poles to be stable and won’t move from stretching the fence or regular wear and tear. Building the fence was efficient as we laid out the steel fence posts and wooden posts within the right distance. We then built the brace, tightened the smooth wire at the bottom of the fence, and ensured it was the right distance from the ground. We then pounded the steel posts in while they were stringing out barbed wire so we could clip them to the steel posts. They had T-post clips that I thought were very handy. Back home, we used electrical wire, which is not as efficient, especially when you must do a long stretch of fence. My host made a handy tool to help clip the wires to the posts. He welded a pole with notches so that we knew where to clip each wire to the fence post to ensure it was up to NRCS standards. Lastly, we made sure to put reflective markers on the top wire.
A concept I learned this week that I would challenge would be the reflective markers on the top wire. I think that it is a waste of materials. Going through other fields I saw that some fell off or were broken. I think that the markers need to be more durable for a longer period of time to reduce waste.
One question from this week is whether other states have grants like this. I am from Nebraska, and having grants like this would be great for ranchers. It is a great way to help wildlife have a better chance of staying alive and healthy.
I plan to use this information to help my family’s farm to be more wildlife-friendly. It is a great idea to have fencing to help wildlife stay alive. My host also showed me many ways to make fencing quick and easy, so I want to make working on the farm efficient and fast as we are a small family farm and don’t have a lot of time for extra work. I also really liked their idea of using steel poles to build braces for their fencing. It is very durable and lasts a lot longer than wooden braces.
Submitted by: Danielle Wadsworth
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team
