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Every year, winter grazing becomes more common as it is often considered more sustainable and can cut feed costs. In addition, producers may graze farmland after harvest for the same reason.

However, these things can be tough to manage without electric fence, and when it comes to electric fence, producers need to know how to use it properly.

“Electric fence has been around for a very long time,” says Garth Hein, the territory manager of Alberta for Gallagher Animal Management. “And over the years, technology has really helped us really improve, especially the electronics. There have been some other technologies that have helped as well. Really the biggest part has been for energizers and electronics and stuff like that. The biggest advantage of using electric fence is managing your cattle and managing your land at the same time.”

Electric fence can be more of a pain than a positive when it is not used correctly — primarily when it’s not insulated correctly.

Hein says this is particularly important in high-rainfall regions, such as Quebec or Ontario. “In those areas where we get high humidity and lots of rain, insulation of a wire is just absolutely crucial because all of those posts will get wet and all that power will just run down the line. 

“As you get further west into the Prairies, we have a drier climate here. And so a lot of people will try to get away with it, and generally speaking, it’s not too bad, until we get two or three days of rain. So in June here in Alberta, for instance, we finally had great moisture … but that’s when I start to get calls. ‘What’s wrong with my fence? I go to check if my energizer voltage is low, my cattle aren’t staying in the fence,’ and you start asking them, and they start saying, ‘Well, yeah, no, I don’t have any insulators. My fence isn’t insulated.’ Well, that’s a problem.”

Bruce Abbey, the territory manager of Ontario with Gallagher Animal Management, says a big issue is producers electrifying barbed wire, which isn’t insulated and has the potential to be dangerous.

Cattle can get hung up on barbed wire fence, potentially leading to harm as the fence emits shocks and they struggle to free themselves. A similar issue can happen to people and wildlife.

“If you electrified barbed wire, there’s a chance that you touch it, and you pull back, your hand will go forward first, and you can really tear your hand up in the barb. So that’s why we say don’t use barbed wire,” Hein says.

Both the governments of British Columbia and Ontario state on their websites that barbed wire should never be electrified. 

“William Gallagher made a point worldwide that we will not allow barbed wire to be used, because people can get hung up on it,” Abbey says, adding that they decided to stick with high-tensile wire because people can disengage from it easily.

“Using barbed wire, in my opinion, is a dangerous game, because like I say, people could get injured or get hung up on it, and it would cause a real issue,” Abbey says.

For producers who may currently be electrifying barbed wire, Abbey recommends immediately switching to a high-tensile wire.

When it comes to electric fencing, farmers also struggle with grounding, Hein says.

“It’s so vital that those ground rods are part of our system because that’s what connects the animal getting a shock with the energizer,” Hein says.

While people still use rebar or sucker rod as a ground rod, Hein says they aren’t good options because they’ll get rusty.

“Electricity doesn’t flow in rust. So that doesn’t help. And that’s why we need galvanized.”

Some see copper as a good grounding option becaus it’s a good conductor. “The problem is just about everything that we make in the fencing business has galvanized steel, and galvanized steel and copper don’t get along at all. There will be a chemical reaction, and you’ll get shorts,” says Hein.

According to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, there are a variety of options when it comes to grazing cropland, including corner posts and line fence posts.

Corner posts are common; however, the more expensive wood posts are permanent but are the most sturdy. Steel posts can be moved when the grazing period begins and ends, but are flimsier, and require insulators.

Line fence posts allow the wire to be inside the field, preventing cattle from rubbing up against fence posts or getting too close to busy roads.

With these temporary fences, it is important to ensure they are grounded and insulated correctly.

“If there’s randomly good posts, what (the producer) could do is put offset insulators, which sit about seven, eight inches away from the post on the inside, and put those around the inside of that cropland and just run a wire all the way around. And then power that,” Hein says.

Although winter grazing takes place in a completely different set of conditions, the way electric fence is used isn’t that much different from the summer.

“In the wintertime, we’ve got elements that we don’t have in the summer,” Hein says.

In the summer, the conditions usually won’t pull power out of the fence, but in dry conditions, producers might need to add a second wire as a ground wire. That way, when an animal touches either wire, the shock will travel between the two and then through the feet.

During winter grazing, sometimes producers have to use the same method.

“We always need more power in the winter because the ground freezes and we get snow and that does act as an insulator. So we have more power in our energizer, that will work through that better. But if it’s a real problem, the only way you can beat that is with a live wire and one ground wire.”

Hein says that with both grazing cropland and winter grazing, training cattle for electric fence is important.

“If you’re not using electric fence in the summertime, and you have seen a central spot where the cattle come for water, if you were to set up a portable fence about 100 feet long — just a straight fence with a small solar energizer that runs all the time — they will get to know electric fences because there’s water, and they’ll go check it.”

That way, once winter comes, it’s far easier for the cattle to understand the electric fence, he adds.

According to the Government of Manitoba’s website, producers who are looking to train their cattle to electric fence should start in a smaller pasture, with a three- to four-wire fence. After about three to four days, the cattle should know not to touch the fence, as after one shock they will generally know to stay away.

Hein says when electric fencing is done correctly, it can make managing land and cattle that much easier.

“Once you get onto it and it works properly for you, the rest of the stuff comes pretty easy. And it can be fun, so don’t be scared to ask questions. Don’t be scared to ask your neighbours what they’re doing and just enjoy and have fun.”

Melissa Bezan is a field editor for Canadian Cattlemen and a graduate of the University of Regina School of Journalism. She grew up on a commercial cattle farm in western Man., and previously worked for the Western Producer. She is based out of Regina, Sask.

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