On the last blog I left off with a lot of unanswered questions. I described in detail how to construct and design permanent or semi-permanent electric fencing. As we move our cattle throughout the permanent pastures we use temporary paddocks. These temporary paddocks range in size depending on pasture conditions and herd size. We are currently (March 2019) stocking about 100 head of yearlings on about two acres ideally for one day. The idea is to take the top 1/3 or 1/2 of the plant and leave the rest. We are achieving a stock density of about 45,000 lbs per acre. The animal impact becomes very visible at this point. Much of the forage is trampled into the ground and remains as litter to feed the soil microbes. Urine and dung cover every square foot of ground.

We utilize this one day rotation on our so called “improved” pastures. My definition of improved may differ from yours. I consider an improved pasture mostly grass and forbs interspersed with trees. It looks a bit like a savanna. The cattle need shade almost as much as they need good forage during the blistering summer months here in South Texas. There are only a few tools needed to move cattle (or other livestock) with temporary electric fencing. With these tools the temporary wire can easily be connected to the permanent electric infrastructure.

1) A good RTV or ATV. We have used a diesel Kubota RTV for years. The axels have given us a lot of trouble, but other than that it’s a great machine. The major advantage of an RTV is you can simply store a lot more tools in the bed. ATV work great as well. We have a Polaris that is light and maneuverable.

2) I prefer the O’Briens Geared Reel for spooling the electric twine on. Do not try to save money and buy a reel that isn’t geared. You will waste three times the amount of time reeling up your wire without a geared reel. The only fault I have found with this reel and others of similar quality is their reel guides aren’t effective. The twine often slips off and tangles up. I use a steel reel guide from Kencove that can easily be bolted onto the reel. This prevents the twine from slipping off the reel when it’s fully loaded. Most reels come with a plastic, non-conductive handle for the “dead” end of the twine.

3) My favorite electric twine is the Stafix 9SS. It can be purchased in the color white or orange. It has 9 electric stainless steel conductors that give one heck of a shock for twine. I have some twine that is 5 years old and remains in great condition and still highly conductive. The problem you run into with cheap, low-quality twine is that the tiny steel wires break. When the wires wrapped around the twine break you lose conductivity and your temporary fence is no longer effective.

4) From my experience of using different brands and styles of step-in posts there is only one that beats them all. O’Briens Treadaline Step-In Post is the best on the market. I like a lot about their design. The foot peg sits to the side of the post so it’s easy to walk along and step them in the ground without twisting your foot around all funky. The post has eight positions for your electric twine and it’s easy to attach or remove the wire. They are also lightweight so if your carrying a bundle under your arm it doesn’t feel like your pulling a tire around. The only downfall I have found is they aren’t rigid enough to make hard turns without bending them over.

5) A good fence volt reader is essential. I use the Gallagher digital volt meter simply because I like Gallagher products. Purchase a volt meter that matches your charger. There is some awesome technology coming out these days in regards to chargers and controllers. If you want to spend the money they make digital meter/controllers that find faults in the fence and allow you to turn off the charger from anywhere on the fence line. Check your fence often to ensure proper voltage. For cattle you don’t want it to be any lower than 6000 V.

All of you may be thinking this sounds like a big time investment moving cattle every day. All I can say is it doesn’t take much time and it pays to do it. When you can increase the stocking rate two fold and see positive ecological impacts it’s well worth it. Increasing the stocking rate two fold is like buying (or leasing in our case) a second ranch for free. Once you have your fencing and watering system in place it’s easy to move the herd in less than 15 minutes per day. The positive ecological impacts of high stock density grazing are tremendous. We have more grasses and beneficial forbs than we did ten years ago when we implemented this system. Our woody species such as mesquite and spiny hackberry are less invasive in our pastures. The soil organic matter has increased to over 4.5% in less than 8 years. Our minerals are becoming more balanced and we are capturing more rainfall than ever before. All of this is achieved with proper planning and management of livestock.

In the next blog I will introduce you to our watering system that makes this possible. Stay tuned!