FENCING is an accepted and essential part of the farming landscape . Modern timber and wire systems replacing traditional wall and hedgerow fencing in lots of places in the UK .

Timber has always been a popular and economical choice for agricultural fencing components which was often cut and milled on the farm . Early farmers would have used hardwoods which were readily available in the early days and was used because of its natural longevity and robustness .

Most timber fencing components today are typically manufactured from more readily available softwoods which do require preservative protection to help ensure a longer and more reliable performance in harsh , ground contact conditions .

Agricultural fencing strainers and stakes must be preserved and protected from rot . Unprotected timbers will be attacked by bacteria , fungi and insects and will begin to decay . Once this process starts the wood will become weak , brittle and unable to perform the task which is was designed for .

There are several methods for trying to add this preservative protection but by far the most consistent and reliable is by high pressure preservative treatments .

Pressure treatments , carried out by sawmills and timber companies in industrial treatment vessels , forces the wood preservative

deep into the timber structure . The preservative remains in the wood for the lifetime of the timber but it is this perceived ‘ lifetime ’ or ‘ desired service life ’ that needs explaining and understanding

For timbers used in permanent ground contact ( strainers and stakes ), its recommended that they be treated to Use Class 4 requirements as stated in BS 8417 , the Code of Practice for preservative treatments for timber . Carried out correctly this should give the timbers a ‘ desired service life ’ of 15 years . There are some treatment companies and suppliers who will treat fencing timbers to an even high specification and offer components treated to a ‘ desired service life ’ of 30 years .

Some suppliers offer product warranties on this performance . Some prefer to educate their customers and show the quality treatment procedures they use and demonstrate the high performance protection they build into the treated timbers they offer . Whichever supplier you are looking to for your fencing timbers it is a good idea to get them to demonstrate and confirm their treatment practices . Find a quality supplier and stick with them .

Surface incising of ground contact fencing timbers is also something to look out for . Whilst not a new concept , surface incising provides regular incisions , particularly at ground contact level , which allow a deeper and more consistent penetration and distribution of the wood

preservative into the timber structure . The deeper and wider the penetration of preservative the better overall chance of long term performance .

Just like any product you use , preservative treated timbers have to be used correctly to perform at their best . Therefore during installation they are some key points to remember .

• Should pressure treated fencing timbers be cross cut , notched or bored during installation , then exposed surfaces must be liberally brushed with a suitable brush-on end grain wood preservative to protect the integrity of the treatment . These are usually readily available from the supplier of the treated timbers .

• Pressure treated fencing timbers must not be pointed after treatment .

• The shortening of pressure treated fencing timbers should be avoided , if possible . If unavoidable the cut end must be treated with a suitable end grain wood preservative and must never be used in ground contact .

• Pressure treated fencing timbers must not be planed or ripsawn .

Most agricultural fencing used on many farms in the UK will utilise a combination of timber fence posts and wire fencing . Traditionally wire fencing was made from mild galvanised steel , but these days there is a move towards wire made with high-tensile steel .

Barbed wire is particularly effective for fencing in cattle and sheep . One or two strands of barbed wire are used in conjunction with woven wire to prevent cattle reaching over the top and in the case of sheep from crawling under .

Smooth wire is essentially the same as barbed wire but just without the barbs . The advantage of this wire is that there is less likelihood of injury if an animal becomes entangled in it . Animals can lean on the mild steel wire stretching it out of shape , which is why high tensile wire is becoming more popular , because of its ability to bounce back to its original length . It is often used in conjunction with a line of electric fence to keep animals fenced in .

High Tensile fencing is a hardspringy steel wire that was developed in the 1970 ’ s . The wire comes in a single strand , barbed and woven and is capable of much more tension than mild steel wire . It will allow wider spacing of posts and

is harder for animals to stretch unlike its mild steel counterpart .

Woven Wire , commonly known as either pig or sheep netting , is generally used to fence in pigs , goats and sheep . It is generally identified by wire knots wrapped around intersecting wire . This wire is suitable is suitable for horses with squares of small dimensions , such as no climb variations with squares that are 2 inches and 4 inches . It is also the most effective for keeping goats .

There are cheaper forms of the wire which are primarily used in residential settings where the wire is spot welded at the intersections . This is far less sturdy and will potentially break if used to fence in livestock . Woven wire is more costly than normal wire and is more time consuming to install .

Electric fencing became available during the 1950 ’ s and has generally been used as a temporary form of fencing , as well as being used to improve security of traditional fencing . Its commonly made with lightweight steel attached to posts with insulators made of either plastic or porcelain . The use of synthetic cord or rope with wire interwoven which carry the electrical charge have become popular especially for use when high visibility is required .