Folks asked me to do a video showing what it looks like as I’m getting ready to turn cows out this Spring. So here’s a video from April 4.
In this 3:30 video, we visit the fence I built in 1999 that is still functioning as sheep pasture. It uses 4 strands of high-tensile, 12 gauge, 180,000 psi wire set at 7, 13, 19, and 30 inches so that it can keep in goats, sheep and guardian dogs. Our posts are 4 foot high, 5/8″ fiberglass posts spaced at 25 feet. Our corners don’t have braces. Instead, we pounded our long posts deeper into the ground so they have the leverage to hold the fence tight. You’ll also see the sheep grazing seedheads off fescue, bluegrass, and orchardgrass, encouraging the grasses to put out new leaves.
You’ll also want good gates, so this second 5:06 video shows how we avoid expensive metal gates and install something economical and sure to keep in sheep, goats and guardian dogs. (I apologize for the windy day that affected the sound.)
I gave up using poly tape and switched to this quarter-inch rope from Powerflex. With 22 steel filaments, it’s a lot stronger than poly tape and doesn’t catch in the wind. On one end the gate Powerflex rope is attached to the electrified high-tensile fence, and on the other to a fiberglass post. In the video I show how I drill a hole through the fiberglass post, string the rope through and then use a slip knot to attach it there so that I can tighten it easily as necessary.
via Greg Judy Talks Spring Turn Out on Green Pastures Farm — On Pasture
