Permanent Electric Fence Subdivision on a Hill Dairy Farm

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 87, Issue 1, 15 July 1953, Page 45

Permanent Electric Fence Subdivision on a Hill Dairy Farm

By

N. A. CLARKE,

Instructor in Agriculture, Department of Agriculture, Matamata

THE electric fence is now an integral part of modern farm management. Since its * introduction a few years ago the number sold each year has increased many times, and in some districts of the Waikato probably half the farmers now use it extensively. Because the electric fence is now so widely used for a variety of jobs, it is only natural that improvements have been made in design and methods of operation.

THE early type, barbed wire attached to insulated battens, quickly gave way to light wire on iron standards with rubber holders. The unit is now housed in a portable case and the wire is wound on a light reel. Sometimes the unit is housed at the cowshed and the wire is run down the fencelines. The wire can then be tapped at any point by a single wire to form a break. Methods of operation have greatly improved since the electric fence was first used as a makeshift permanent fence and to keep the bulls in their paddock. Now it is used to break-feed crops and is the tool of successful grazing management. Reasons for Development Through trial and error the electric fence has been found to be an out-

standing aid in improved herd and grazing management. It is mainly used to ration autumn-saved grass and early-spring growth, but more and more farmers are using it throughout the season and they are convinced that it pays. Electric fence operation is easy on flat, well-subdivided farms with a central race, but on hilly dairy farms paddocks are usually large and fences, gateways, and water supply are placed to fit in with the lie of the land. Thus the paddocks can vary greatly in size and have varying areas of flat, sidling, and top. With permanent fencing costing about £6OO per mile on hill country, it is not surprising that paddocks tend to be large and therefore unevenly grazed. Many are unploughable and have to be improved by other means. In such paddocks the herd usually grazes on the siblings

and “camps” on the tops. Thus the tops are of high fertility and contain good grass and clover species, but the flats, and especially the siblings, cannot hold the better pasture species. Such farms need break feeding more than any other type to concentrate the stock on each part of the paddock in turn so that it will be grazed evenly and the pastures will be kept at an even fertility. However, break feeding of hill pastures can be laborious and awkward, and shifting of the electric fence into daily breaks is often impracticable. Permanent Electric Fences The farm described is at Okauia, on the western slopes of the Kaimai Range, which divides the Bay of Plenty from the Waikato. It is of 169 acres and is about 5 miles in a direct line from Matamata. The farm falls

away from its highest point of 535 ft. above sea level. to the Waihou River on the 100 ft. contour. The property is farmed by the owner, Mr. J. V. Tapper, assisted by two sons Messrs. R. and J. Tapper. The system of permanent electric fencing was started 4 seasons ago by another son, Mr. H. Tapper, and has been, carried on enthusiastically ever since. Layout of System \ Now 6 paddocks totalling about 60 acres have permanent electric fences and it is planned to extend the system to other areas. On this farm only the flatter paddocks can be harvested and most of these are at the back. The herd is wintered on these paddocks and they are also used for day grazing. Therefore the hill paddocks are always shut up for autumn-saved pasture. They are used as night paddocks until the silage paddocks are shut up, when they are grazed both night and day. It is these hill paddocks that have the permanent electric fences. The size of the break is about 12 hours’ grazing for the 100 milking cows during late spring. The breaks are of between 2 and 3 acres, varying according to the fertility of the paddock. The subdivisions are placed so that there is no interference with the defined routes the tractor has to take to topdress the slopes. One paddock of 12 acres has 6 permanent subdivisions. A permanent alleyway follows one fenceline to allow the stock- access to all the breaks, the water trough, and the gate. The electric .fence unit is housed at the cowshed. Three main leads to the paddocks are attached to poles on the fencelines 15ft. to 20ft. above the ground. Each break has its own gateway and the wire is taken 15ft. above it, allowing all implements, including a mechanical stacker, ample clearance. Besides the master switch at the shed each paddock has its own switch at the gateway. The power can be turned off in any paddock to allow the gate to be opened and farm work to be carried on unhindered by live wires. A switch for each paddock helps in finding “shorts” in the electrical system, as each paddock can be tested individually. When the master switch is on at the shed each paddock can be switched on in turn and the fault traced. The system of permanent electric fences has been tried in the past, but has generally been abandoned because of the difficulty of finding shorts in a large system of wires. By having a switch for each paddock Mr. Tapper has successfully overcome this difficulty. The breaks are fenced with totara stakes about 2ft. 6in. to 3ft. high and about 30ft. apart. One wire is used

2ft. 6in. above the ground. This may seem low,. but it has been found that cows tend to go under an electric fence rather than over it and this height is the most satisfactory. Silage stacks are successfully fenced in this manner, as it is simple to take a lead . from the nearest wire and erect a few battens round a stack. X \ Method of Operation The breaks give about 12 hours’ grazing for the herd and so a fresh break is used each grazing. In early spring, before all the herd is milking and the autumn-saved pasture is. being rationed, one break may last 2 to 3 days. However, the break may be further subdivided simply by attaching a wire across the break from any desired position. Similarly in autumn one break may not be enough and the cows are then allowed access to two breaks. The system saves much time, as the fence does not have to be shifted each day or moved from paddock to paddock every few days. All that is necessary is to open the gate into the particular break in the paddock, switch on the power to all the fences in that paddock so that the herd can go only into the opened break, and once the herd is in the paddock shut the outside gate. The only disadvantage in the system is that hand topdressing under fencelines is necessary. Advantages of System The value of this system is proved by the evenness of the pastures over the paddocks where the system has been in operation for a season or two. Not only are the pastures even through better-controlled grazing and the even spread of fertility, but these result in the encouragement of the better species of grasses and clovers. Therefore more grass is grown per acre, more cows can be carried, the fertility is consequently raised, and the cycle continues. Once the system is established it is simply operated. Installation and maintenance costs are low compared with those of permanent fencing. A switch for each paddock and a master switch at the shed enable shortcircuits to be easily traced. Stacks can be fenced easily and effectively. All the above factors outweigh many times the small disadvantages..