Building an Electric Fence on Your Farm? Avoid These Mistakes!
If you’re looking to buy a farm, there are many different things you’ll need to consider. Once you actually have it, however, you’ll have the freedom to use asset management in oil and gas industry as the way you want to use it, whether that means escaping from the daily hustle of your busy life or raising livestock.
Should you choose to practice the latter and have your own animals on the farm, keeping them safe and secure is obviously going to become your top priority. That means, you’ll have to build an electric fence on your farm!
And although the task may look pretty straightforward and simple, there are many mistakes that both first-time ranchers and experienced pros make while building an electric fence on their farm.
What are these mistakes, you ask?
We look at the three most common ones… Coincidentally, they’re also the costliest:
Failing to make gate openings carry the current
How are you planning to keep your fence live when your electric fence gates will be open?
You’ll be amazed how many animals can detect in a second when the fence is not live!
Building a fence that conducts current even when the gates are open is often a challenge for farm owners. And because it’s difficult, many farm owners avoid it. This puts the safety of the animals left in the field at risk. So make sure you don’t repeat this mistake when building an electric fence on your farm.
How can you make gate openings carry the current?
Simply trench both cold and hot galvanized wires one-foot deep under the gate openings. This will ensure your electric fence stays live even when the gates are open.
Placing ground rods too close together
Proper grounding is key to ensuring your electric fence system operates smoothly.
One mistake that farm owners often make when grounding their electric fence system is that they place the grounds rods too close together.
This can overheat or overcharge fencing system the circuit, and you can potentially ruin your investment.
What should you do then?
Always maintain safe spacing between ground rods. The spacing distance can vary depending on the size of the land protected by the fence.
Building a fence that’s moose and elk proof
Many farm owners try to make their fence moose and elk proof. In theory, the idea makes sense, but practically it doesn’t!
You see, when you try to build a fence that’s wildlife proof, you risk the danger of harming the animals who may find themselves running towards a dead end. Also, you risk the safety of your fencing system, as the panicked antelope may damage your fence in the struggle to break free.
You should always design a fence that ably holds the wildlife back without unnecessarily harming or injuring them.
One solution is to use a flexible fencing system that will bend a bit as the animal exerts a force on it, without ever getting broke or harming the animal. Another consideration is to build a low-profile fence.
Whether you’re learning the basics of wood, plastic, wire and tape, or are an experienced hand, there’s always something new to learnwhen it comes to farm fencing. We hope you found the information in this article both useful, and helpful.
About Catoico Resource Management
Catoico Resource Management is one of the leading farm and ranch management companies in Midland Texas. The company provides tailor-made farm management services to cater to the special needs of individual farm owners. For more details, please call (432) 686–1044 or visit the company’s official website.
