fence line: clear it or bull-doze it?

[pdubdo]

First post here
I'm new to cattle and land management in general. Finally saved up to buy 65 acres in southern OK and beginning to evaluate the fence lines. The pasture hasn't been mowed/grazed in several years, but just waist-high brush. The fence-lines, however, haven't been maintained in a probably 5-10+ years. Can't see the wires for the vines/brush, and at least a couple 3-6 inch thick/8-12 ft tall post-oaks/cedars growing every 20 feet or so. It's this overgrown only about a foot or so away from the fence line. No obvious holes in the fencing though. Would you A) patch the holes as they show up, put cattle out there, and work on the fence lines a little at a time? B) Chainsaw/Round-up/weed'whack the fence line over the next year and wait to put cows there? or C) bull-doze/clear the fence line and replace the fence? Got a day job that pays the bills but still on a pretty tight budget. Thanks for any advice.

 

[JW IN VA]

Not seeing the fence,I'd say "a" or "b" depending on cattle price and your wallet. :welcome:

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

To me a tight budget means you improvise and adjust making do with what you have at your disposal.

I'd clear it off and patch as needed.

My :2cents:

 

[Drzr]

I am in similar situation I'm doing "a".

 

[M.Magis]

You don't mention how much fence, but I'd go with A. But rather than wait for holes to show up, I'd walk every foot of the fence and fix them first. Otherwise fixing the fence will be preceded with getting cows back in.
Maybe take a sprayer and ride along the fence and spray everything. In a few weeks the grass/weeds will die back enough you'll be able to see the fence much better.

 

[Texas PaPaw]

Suggest checking condition of the fence wire. If wire is rusty and brittle it will be very difficult if not impossible to tie/stretch/repair even if you get fence line cleared. If wire is rusty and brittle then bulldozer could be best option. Also falling trees/limbs will be a continual problem if trees are near fence. Bulldozer can clear them out.

 

[Supa Dexta]

Start with the worst side and do a new section a year.

 

[skyhightree1]

Personally you need to find out whats underneath... if its really overgrown there may not be much of a fence under it if at all. I would spray it really good and wait and see.

 

[SteppedInIt]

I think my goal would be to get cattle on there asap. This requires fencing and water. I would hire or rent the equipment to mow or clear along the fence line for easy access to allow truck/atv/tractor to easily evaluate/repair fence to where you can hold cattle on the property. Improvise like someone said earlier. Second thing you need is water. Get your water source/system set up. Third get your cattle. Then you can do cleaning and clearing sections at a time and replacing sections of the perimeter as you go. Having the animals there helps keep what you have cleaned up under control. Start cross fencing each area you clean up and you will be able to rotate animals in paddocks around the property.

 

[AdamsCreek]

I agree with Sky. I'd soak it with roundup and see what you got after that.

 

[HDRider]

I'm in the same boat. I have about 100 acres with old grown up fences. I am going to patch those and get cattle on it ASAP. I already have my water.

I have another 40, which is my most improved pasture, good water, clover, fescue and Bermuda. No fence. I plan to cut a fence path with a chain saw and string two strands of electric HT. Then get cattle on there.

I ain't on the place until fall this year. All subject to change.

Keep us posted on your progress. Good luck. Welcome to CT.

 

[Jogeephus]

Soak it good with herbicide then do another evaluation.

 

[pdubdo]

Thanks everyone. I'll spray and reevaluate. Hopefully wire is decent underneath

 

[houstoncutter]

Guess I'll be the turd in the punch bowl. Unless that pasture borders a road I wouldnt worry about it. Cattle unless it's a horny bull or longhorns can be held in with next to nothing if they have plenty of good grass. "Grass in the front and bull in the back", it ain't rocket science .

 

[dieselbeef]

sprayins easy..sprsy it..turn em loose 2 week later..where do they go if they get out?

 

[backhoeboogie]

Trees don't sound that big. Good Grade 80 chain looped around them will likely pull 'em easy enough. Especially as wet as it is. Cedar come up easy. It took me a day to pull small trees on the perimeter of a 138 acre place. Trees were young. A cousin was helping me. I was a lot younger then too. We went around the place with a brush hog after pulling the trees out of the way. We added some wire here and there. Several T posts.

Yours is about half that size. I don't know what your terrain is.

 

[skyhightree1]

Guess I'll be the turd in the punch bowl. Unless that pasture borders a road I wouldnt worry about it. Cattle unless it's a horny bull or longhorns can be held in with next to nothing if they have plenty of good grass. "Grass in the front and bull in the back", it ain't rocket science .

My comment to that would be they may not be near a road but they could potentially travel to one. I like to have someone piece of mind that my fences are in good condition and not worry AS MUCH. I have plenty of grass however I have left gates open and they sure did wander around. My cattle soon as I switch to different paddocks or bring new ones in the first thing they do is walk the fence line looking at the boundaries. I darn sure don't want to leave anything open to chance if I can help it.. What's that saying a ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure or something..

 

[Jogeephus]

I can vouch for the need for inspecting the fence good before you put them in there because I didn't and almost got into big trouble. I leased the land next door to me and it had five strand barbed wire all around it. I walked the whole thing and all was good as far as I could see except for about a 100 yard section that was covered in honeysuckle. This section was only a fraction of the perimeter and all the rest of the fence was fine so it was only reasonable to assume this was fine too. Besides the vines would keep the cattle from finding any holes in the fence. WRONG! Cattle like honeysuckle. I think they like to eat it as a midnight snack because they ate their way through the vines around midnight and found a 30 foot gap that didn't have a single piece of wire in it and on the highway right of way they went. Fixing fence at 2:00 a.m sucks......especially in a light drizzle. :bang:

 

[dieselbeef]

stupid cows

 

[LauraleesFarm]

I really want to have clean fencerows.

For 9-12 bucks and hour you might be surprised what a good laborer that can handle a chainsaw can do to clear fences. If the posts are good, the H braces stout, and the wire can be tightened, this is always my first choice.

This year I hit the jackpot by hiring Marcos. His whole life he has worked on a crew logging timber. He's the chainsaw guy. Due to this years rain, he has not worked as much as usual. Marcos has cleaned a whole lot of fence and brush, built and repaired fences and H braces. He even created me a road thru a thicket to connect our two pieces of property and cross a huge creek. All in a very short amount of time. When you find someone like Marcos you keep him busy and pay him well.