Farmers Review Africa July/Aug 2017 Farmers Review Africa July/Aug 2017 | Page 27
Fencing Solu ons for farms
Supplement
Fencing Solutions for farms
Installing fencing on your farm is a task that will years with little attention. Today, this type of
cost you both time and money. B efore wood is generally unavailable.
purchasing fences, consider all your options and
makes it a good choice for small pastures,
handling facilities and paddocks designed to
separate bulls or stallions from cows or mares. It
how they will best suit your farm. It is essential to In humid climates, a wooden fence has a life
have good fences for your stock. If you are expectancy of about 20 years with a regular
also makes affordable riding arenas.
working with sheep or goats, it can be expensive maintenance schedule, including painting or Barbed Wire Fences
to put up fences that are capable of keeping them staining every few years. Without dedicated Barbed wire, developed in 1853 by Texan William
in. maintenance, a wooden fence will suffer. H. Meriwether, enabled those settling in the arid
Pressure-treated lumber will last for about seven West (where wood was scarce) to operate farms
Fencing on farms is erected for a number of years without painting or staining, but carries a and ranches. However, barbed wire is difficult to
reasons, including separating the property of higher cost than untreated lumber.
different owners, keeping livestock within
work with—inevitably tearing up pants, gloves
and skin if it has half the chance. It's also
certain areas or out of other areas and for Vinyl-coated wood can dramatically increase a dangerous to animals that get caught in it, oen
security. wooden fence's life span. By cladding pressure- resulting in such severe injuries that the animal
treated wood with vinyl, you get a water- must be euthanized; this is particularly true for
Wood Fences resistant product that is not exposed to solar horses.
Traditionally, wood was the best choice for radiation. You get a great, no-maintenance Barbed wire is, unfortunately, the only “legal
fencing, oen cut and milled right off the farm. product.
fence” in some states, yet it's oen illegal under
local government codes if you live in a town or a
But for early fence builders, the heartwood of
aged, hardwood trees was readily available, and Although wood is rarely used today for subdivision. If you live in one of the states that
this heartwood had longevity—oen lasting 100 perimeter fencing of large pastures, its strength limit a legal fence to four-strand barbed wire and
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REVIEW AFRICA
July - August 2017