"Improving Our Lot" - Planned Holistic Grazing, for starters..

Kiwi Pete

Member
Livestock Farmer
Just wondering people's thoughts on best electric fence posts?
I've hear good things about Strainrite, I guess 6mm x 1040mm for cattle. Not cheap though (over £5 each).
Open to suggestions!
I hear alot of people talking up those ringtop ones.
Last ones I bought were super light duty short ones that were cheap, I'd buy them again actually as they are super lightweight.

All my answers feature the phrase "it depends" but the key difference here is we seldom use a quad or pickup to cart gear around, I like being able to grab a reel and upto 15 posts in my little hot hand and zoom off on the bike

When we used a quad more then the heavier ones seemed better, but I'd still use doubles at corners etc .

So there's a lot of variables, if I was just doing short subdivision fences across reasonably flat terrain then I'd have a different favourite than if we were on steep stuff - or if we were making perimeters etc out of temp fence

As you know I'm a huge fan of the kiwitech stuff and it just seems to make more sense - if you bust a clip, put on a new one. If you bust the spike off, put a new one on
etc
Having seen a great pile of good pigtails slowly deteriorate over use, there seems to be a lot of waste after a while, when you get the insulation cut thru in one place but the rest of the unit is fine (and we never roll the wire up through them either, these cuts are all from animals busting thru the fences on dairy farms)

I do like the plastic treadin style, we have the red strainrites and the white gallagher ones, each have their pros and cons too

Not many gems in there but IF I was going to buy 100 then I'd not even look in a store and just ring kiwitech TBH
 

Crofter64

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Quebec, Canada
a before and after, both pics taken as near as the same spot, l think the cows liked it.
We grazed it out of rotation, as we have a slew making cow tracks, and breaking fences, easier to put them here, than bodge fences up, before slew finishes.
Even here, the sward is rather open in the bottom, production wise, no complaints. Pics were taken 3 days apart.
View attachment 985526View attachment 985527
They’re really taking it down.I guess that was the last grazing of the year for that paddock?
 

Samcowman

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Cornwall
@som farmer the red clover third cut analysis I said about. Did some quick coatings with the nutritionist and we figured for each % of protein it’s costing about 30% of bought in
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Kiwi Pete

Member
Livestock Farmer
I have got some Rutland black ones. Near indestructible. This year I needed some more and got some cheap ones. Oh what a Mistake that was they have zero strength and then about the top half a foot breaks off.
One day I will get some proper fencing gear.
I reckon if I was starting over, I wouldn't go with any of the gear I've been using for the past 20 years (geared reels, pigtails) and just invest in a winder with a whole heap of spools.

I was super-sceptical about the idea of leaving a heap of wire out there, but heck, it saves your time if you do.

Even if your fence is mainly let down into the grass with a couple of markers left in, all the fences that usually go up in a certain place are as well left out there.

We're reusing a lot of our "worst" kit in this way


I think our next technosystems will be multiwire lanes more like @NZDan uses and so it might be time to look at what we use to subdivide with....
 

som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
They’re really taking it down.I guess that was the last grazing of the year for that paddock?
they liked that bit, but we will go once more round, weather dependant.
for many years, cattle would not graze that ground down, we used to strip graze, top, bale the rubbish, and tip in a hole. 1998, l put it into C/Stewardship scheme, low imput, no ploughing, - it's a scheduled ancient monument field. Certainly didn't improve much, but the money was nice. Came out of that scheme, just after we started milking again, so, gave it a heavy dose of r/up, it needed it, d/d rape into it, reseeded x2 since then, and cattle will happily graze it down, why, don't know, but not complaining.
 

som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
@som farmer the red clover third cut analysis I said about. Did some quick coatings with the nutritionist and we figured for each % of protein it’s costing about 30% of bought inView attachment 985561
lovely stuff, quality forage saves a fortune, and we must all strive to achieve those results, because, if we do, all the good production is easier.
Not happy with the speared samples this year, the rye/vetch, came back at 48% protien, which l don't think can possibly be correct, now the clover multi-cut, has come back very low p. So looks like we will have to wait, till a face sample, which is the most accurate, along with our noses. It's just a pain in the butt, thinking about winter rations, with dodgy silage, or analysis, because, it might be right ! We shall do more sampling, with differing results.
 

holwellcourtfarm

Member
Livestock Farmer
the political aspect, has changed the world, for the majority, the need for 'better' living, negates the chances of succeeding, especially in densely populated countries. One of the expanding markets, for UK ag product, is in those countries where the standard of living has risen, and meat consumption rises, with it. One of the few re-assurances of a post brexit UK, is that we are targeting the far east mkt, where economies are booming, rather than some of our traditional mkts, which are stagnating, but that is politics, and not for this thread !
Bhutan, l believe, lives a pastoral life style, no cars as such, with quite isolated communities, and that is how they wish to live, and obviously happy, and have little government, or royal, interference. But, many countries prefer not to live like that, and wish to attain a higher standard of living, which means swapping rice for wheat, and more meat.
Perhaps, education, more than politics, is to blame in many 3rd world countries, for the lack of sustainable ag. But, for the majority, organic production, will not feed rising populations.
I do think Bhutan, is very lucky, in that it has achieved 'tranquillity' and l feel a bit envious, most of us, have managed to achieve a grade of complexity, in our lives, that would be nearly unbelievable to them.
British society is incredibly affluent by third world standards and yet is often cruel, selfish and miserable by comparison.

We generally have too much and appreciate too little I think.
 

som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
British society is incredibly affluent by third world standards and yet is often cruel, selfish and miserable by comparison.

We generally have too much and appreciate too little I think.
covid has changed our lives in many ways, people have restarted cooking at home, staying in etc, which is actually slowing down the hectic speed of modern life. Will it last ? I hope it does, but somehow l don't think it will last.
In this affluent society, there are very definitely the haves, and have nots, and that will always occur in every society, but l suspect our definition of poverty, some countries would consider affluent. A few years ago, when out with a group, one of whom worked in africa, for a charity, as things do, conversation got on to immigration, and the desire of so many, to get to the UK. His reply has stuck with me ever since, basically, everyone had heard of the British Empire, with fairly positive views, and as we were walking through hereford town centre, with baskets of flowers on poles, and flower beds, bright colours etc, he said, if they saw a picture of this, compared to their towns, this looks like 'streets paved with gold', couple that with fairy tales of handouts, who wouldn't want to get here, and take huge risks to do so.
It's peculiar that many think the empire was 'bad', and yet some people have a very different view, and their country, was in it, and now, 50+ years on, we are the 'go-to' place. I wonder if reality, and their aspirations, match up, when they do get here.
 

Crofter64

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Quebec, Canada
I reckon if I was starting over, I wouldn't go with any of the gear I've been using for the past 20 years (geared reels, pigtails) and just invest in a winder with a whole heap of spools.

I was super-sceptical about the idea of leaving a heap of wire out there, but heck, it saves your time if you do.

Even if your fence is mainly let down into the grass with a couple of markers left in, all the fences that usually go up in a certain place are as well left out there.

We're reusing a lot of our "worst" kit in this way


I think our next technosystems will be multiwire lanes more like @NZDan uses and so it might be time to look at what we use to subdivide with....
I leave some of my ‘temporary’ twine , as well as some posts, on the ground in the winter. I used to reel it up and put the twine and posts away but found it too much work. You have to be careful of rodents though. They have chewed a lot of rolled up netting this summer, and chewed the filaments on my longest twine, 7/8ths to the top. ( probably last winter)I couldn’t figure out what was happening: I would test the fence and get good voltage, but a couple of troublemakers were on the wrong side for several days till I figured out that there was this tiny break. fault finder is handy in that case- lost it in July
 

Blaithin

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Alberta
If I can get a poly post to last a year it’s an amazing feat :ROFLMAO:

They don’t do well with cold. Snap right off at the spike. Plus all the little clips gradually break off as well. And they also like to bend if there’s pressure on them which then annoys me when they end up looking like a bow.

Best ones, besides rebar, are the metal pigtail type. Also tried a few fibreglass ones this summer as they’re cheaper. See how they do.

Was looking at the permanent type from Gallagher. T posts coated with poly I believe? They look handy and aren’t priced way out of contention. But not meant for portable, step in purposes.
 

Karliboy

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
West Yorkshire
It’s all been a bit hectic off late with being self employed now and having to do some work for a living 🙈😂 and holidays with poor reception.
Cows have been on this type off fodder for a couple of weeks and been quite content which surprised me and it lasted way longer than expected
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I have taken it down a lot closer this time as I bought a little seed (herbal mix) and acquired a cheap spare clover mix of a mate that wasn’t used for some reason and some old barrenburg clover that I had from a few years back.
enough for 4 acres in each bag so I’m mixing it up and throwing out as u go in front of cows. Hopefully tease it out to 9/10 acres
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holwellcourtfarm

Member
Livestock Farmer
It’s all been a bit hectic off late with being self employed now and having to do some work for a living 🙈😂 and holidays with poor reception.
Cows have been on this type off fodder for a couple of weeks and been quite content which surprised me and it lasted way longer than expected
View attachment 985675View attachment 985676View attachment 985677
I have taken it down a lot closer this time as I bought a little seed (herbal mix) and acquired a cheap spare clover mix of a mate that wasn’t used for some reason and some old barrenburg clover that I had from a few years back.
enough for 4 acres in each bag so I’m mixing it up and throwing out as u go in front of cows. Hopefully tease it out to 9/10 acres
View attachment 985679View attachment 985680View attachment 985681View attachment 985682View attachment 985683View attachment 985684View attachment 985685
There's a lot more food in PP like that than most people think....
 

Karliboy

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
West Yorkshire
Cows have gone back to the hill for a week as I treat my self to a new heifer on Sunday so they can all settle in together up there.
Will put behind electric for training next Saturday as I didn’t fancy having any breakouts from the newcomer with working further away from home at the moment.
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2 of my better ones but calves are growing like stink. Only just 9 months old and never seen a bucket.
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som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
It’s all been a bit hectic off late with being self employed now and having to do some work for a living 🙈😂 and holidays with poor reception.
Cows have been on this type off fodder for a couple of weeks and been quite content which surprised me and it lasted way longer than expected
View attachment 985675View attachment 985676View attachment 985677
I have taken it down a lot closer this time as I bought a little seed (herbal mix) and acquired a cheap spare clover mix of a mate that wasn’t used for some reason and some old barrenburg clover that I had from a few years back.
enough for 4 acres in each bag so I’m mixing it up and throwing out as u go in front of cows. Hopefully tease it out to 9/10 acres
View attachment 985679View attachment 985680View attachment 985681View attachment 985682View attachment 985683View attachment 985684View attachment 985685
looking at grass today, one thing is very certain, chicory and plantain, need no special treatment at sowing, they grow faster than weeds, when spun on with fert. It's now appearing in places, it should have 5 months ago, we presumed failure, totally wrong.
Over seeded a cutting ley, 2.5 kg r/clover, end last week, it's well up ! The soil this year, must be at the optimum moisture/heat, for reseeding. I'll post a pic, of plantain going nuts, quite impressive, as long as it's feed value, is as claimed !
 

Kiwi Pete

Member
Livestock Farmer
There's a lot more food in PP like that than most people think....
Especially when you graze it well, "there's plenty more toothpaste in the tube"

Been a real "eye opener" here as to just how stuffed we would have been this winter -

overstocked, almost
winter grazing starts several weeks early
autumn growth never really happened

- that is to say, we haven't had alot going for us (although good rains have set us up)

but long story short, if it wasn't for having a lot of extra grazing control and PERMANENT PASTURE then we certainly wouldn't be sitting where we are now, and yes those 5 weeks hurt but we can roll that deficit right on through
 

Tyedyetom

Member
Livestock Farmer
I’ve thought of going down the BD route several times, but always got sidetracked by the lingo. Where would you recommend that a person start with it?
I’ve been trying to get hold of some horns or hooves through our local hunt the last few months but they never see much with horns so just ordered a bag online ment as dog chews! Going to fill with dung and bury over winter and then use for the silica one next summer. Give it a go on a few fields and see what happens, might do some leaf tissue test to see and results in time.
I agree I don’t think you need to know all about it to give it a go, people can say what they like! I’m still going to do it!
 

sheepdogtrail

Member
Livestock Farmer
Just wondering people's thoughts on best electric fence posts?
I've hear good things about Strainrite, I guess 6mm x 1040mm for cattle. Not cheap though (over £5 each).
Open to suggestions!
PowerPosts™ - I get them here in the US. But I think they are made either in Germany or Poland. I have hundreds of them and they stay up or are at least exposed to the elements year round. My oldest ones are about 18 years old now. They will bend 90 degrees before they snap and will return to straight after a few days. I have broken a few of the oldest ones in the last couple of years. But easily get 10 years without a failure is pretty good if you ask me. They cost me about $5.00 USD each. I stomp them through clay silt loam in the summer or sandy, rocky soil in the winter.

All of the other plastic step in post I have tried have not made it through a season. They snap at either the spike or somewhere along the post itself.

Life is good. There is no place in my workspace for cheap plastic post. Been there done that as they say.

Let me know if you can not find them and I will send you a link to the US distributor. Perhaps they will tell you where they get them. I have seen them in use in France, Germany and Spain, but not in the UK, Oz or NZ.
 

Henarar

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Somerset
Cows have gone back to the hill for a week as I treat my self to a new heifer on Sunday so they can all settle in together up there.
Will put behind electric for training next Saturday as I didn’t fancy having any breakouts from the newcomer with working further away from home at the moment.
View attachment 985689View attachment 985690
2 of my better ones but calves are growing like stink. Only just 9 months old and never seen a bucket.
View attachment 985693View attachment 985695
Had one a lot like that blue steer in market a few weeks ago, sold like feck
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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