Economics of Fencing

From an economic perspective, how does hedge laying compare to the modern Midwestern standard barbed wire fence? I factor in labor costs here. Hedges take a lot of labor to install initially and continued maintenence, but materials could be free (would be for us since we have several varieties of trees growing on our property well suited to hedging. They would just need to be propogated). Barbed wire takes much less time and calories to install and (presumably) maintain, but will need to be replaced periodically which costs money.

What about stone and other types of fence? What is the cost/ benefit breakdown here?

We're getting ready to fence our perimeter and have been watching Tales From the Green Valley so the question came up. We're probably going to use barbed wire since we want livestock quickly, but we love the idea of hedges since they are traditional, look cool, are cheap (from a strictly monetary perspective), and resources for repairing are easily obtained (in the possible event of further supply chain disruptions down the road.)

I  have the same dilemma. Problem with all living hedges is they take 5-7 years to be of any size. So you need an INTERMEDIATE solution!!!

I ended up putting ugly wire fence around my orchard and planting the living hedge next to it.

The economics of fencing is not something I am interested in though I am sure there will be several replies to help with this.

Barbwire works well for cattle though not so well for sheep and goats.  Field fence works will for that.

I like the idea of a hedge though the barbwire would need to be used while the hedge is growing.

My concern with a hedge is that even once it is established the hedge might not keep in cattle though the cattle might enjoy eating the hedge.

Dismantling barbed wire seems like it would be dangerous .
How about electric fencing?

Depending on the length needed, a person might prefer a high "critter fence" with holes 2"X 4" and metal posts.: https://www.critterfence.com/critterfence-black-steel-2x4-inch-grid-6-x-100?gclid=Cj0KCQiA1NebBhDDARIsAANiDD2lkCaih5DvwlD4AZmTk2XqXGeElBwNi1tC4KL5hIw2PdcbCEUOQ3UaAvWuEALw_wcB
This one is coated , but you don't have to get it coated.
I like it because:
* It is fairly unobtrusive [you can see through it, so your neighbors are unlikely to object and you can still enjoy vistas if you have them.].
* It does not take much room, width wise: If you have a small plot of land and install a hedge that ends up being 5 ft wide... you really diminish your useable land [although you could use trees that give you a crop] I might be tempted to install grapevines if I want to keep it narrow.
* A "living hedge" often stops being alive. If it develops even one hole, you have nothing. That is particularly frustrating if you have a loooong hedge and bought lots of trees/ shrubs to make it.
* It goes up in a day and is immediately useable.
* It lasts a long time since it is galvanized.
* Critters see it too and won't attempt to ram through it: They know better. I'm not sure deer can be dissuaded as well with a living fence.
* It's easy to install, even without specialized tools and is easy to cut to length to suit you with a wire cutter.
* If you choose to have a live hedge alongside it, you could remove the wire mesh and reuse it later elsewhere.
* The metal posts are easy to pound in the ground. I did the whole fence all around my fruit trees in 2 days.
Yep, it is a bit pricey. So is losing your chickens, beef, dairy cattle, goats, hogs etc.. or your fruit trees to a horde of hungry deer..
There are some things I might cut corners on. Keeping my animals secure and protected is not one of them.

Hi Katie,
I think we have here a classic example of "it depends..." :)

You say you want to look at the pure economics of fencing, but want to ignore the labor. I'm not sure you can ignore the amount of time it takes to create the fence. Your time is worth money, and what you get in the end can also effect money. You do not mention what you are hoping this fence will do. If you are trying to hold some kind of livestock, and a hedge won't hold them in for several years, making you buy double fencing... that costs money and possibly time chasing animals. If you want it for dividing land or for looks, then the barbwire fence will cost you money to make it look nice. If you want a hedge that produces food, then a hedge that is 5' wide is worth the space, because you are gardening. It takes time, but once its established, then it is producing food for you, and that can save or even make money... again effecting the economics of the fence.

I hope that makes sense. I would suggest electric fencing, but it depends on what you want to do, whether that would actually be cheaper.

I built new barbed wire fence around my perimeter and yard when I first bought my place. I don’t regret it one bit. I had cattle so did 6 strand. Sheep and goat would need 9 strand or the square panel fencing ( not sure the name). Actually I had it built due to work obligations and the fact that all my post were drilled bc I have so much rock so I would’ve had to rent equipment I’m not familiar running. A crew came in and knocked it out in 2-3days. Would’ve taken me much much longer and they made every detail perfect down to the wire wraps.

I love the fact that I’ve never had an animal out and it looks great. This will last my lifetime I’m certain and I’m only 38.

The downside?? $$$ it was very expensive but I saw it as a good investment for not only my piece of mind of not only containing my animals in but other animals out. And it adds a lot of value at least here if you were ever to resale.

I did this about 2.5years ago so I’m sure price has gone up but it was approx 1000 per acre.

I have a few numbers that I can throw into the mix for my area:

* Planting a double-row hedge at 45cm spacing (6 plants per meter) costs around £9.50/m.
* Laying a hedge costs about the same as planting it (avg. £10/m but can be much more expensive) and needs to be done every 7-20 years, depending on the hedge and conditions of the area. You may need to buy additional stakes too.
* Putting in a new dry-stone wall costs a fortune, I've heard quotes of £200/m2 and roughly the same again for materials, although this depends on your area and the chosen stone. If a wall is half a meter thick then this price will do a run of 2m.
* Repairing a dry-stone wall can be a similar price to installing it as it often needs to be taken down and rebuilt.
* Standard farm fencing (stock netting with a single run of barbed wire, wooden posts and a strainer every 50m) costs around £8/m. This will last 15 years and you might be able to reuse the netting, although most of the cost is the posts.

Another good metric is to look at how much the Government or other organisations with grants will give you, as part of a grant scheme, for putting in these boundaries:

* Hedge-laying is £9.50/m
* Dry-stone walling is £25/m
* Fencing is £6/m

I am putting in new boundaries on my land. It's one large field at the moment and, by the end of the winter, it should be 4 smaller fields.

Along each boundary I am planting a hedge and stock fencing. It's a lot of work and it is incredibly expensive. I am doing it all myself, with the help of my partner and some friends (we're having a digging party to plant the hedges). I'm using high-quality materials (often second-hand) so I hope that the job will last 20-30 years. All of the hedgerow is being 75% funded by the Woodland Trust and I'm hoping to receive further funding from the National Park.

Once the hedges are mature (7-10 years old), I am going to lay them. There will be ~ 350m of hedgerow to lay so it will probably take me a few winters! Once laid, the hedges should be stock proof and the fences become redundant. The fences will be invaluable for getting the hedge up to a good height and thickness, however, and they will protect the hedge for the first year after it has been laid - until it has bushed up and the pleaches have healed over.

The value of traditional boundaries (hedges and stone walls) for wildlife is immense. They are full of hiding places, spots to nest in and habitats for birds, reptiles and invertebrates. They are also beautiful and often provide a yield - the amount of fruit, medicine and firewood that a hedge can yield is enormous.

I do understand, however, why modern agriculture has moved towards post and wire fences: it's time and efficiency. Farms no longer command enormous workforces who can spend all winter laying a hedge and repairing stone walls. It is not possible to perform those tasks using a tractor - whereas it is possible to flail-mow hedges, knock in fence posts and strain wire using one.

There may well be a point in the future where energy becomes more expensive (post-oil, before we find a viable alternative) and farmers are forced to reconsider their methods. Until that point, and whilst fossil fuels are so cheap, relative to labour costs, I can't see there being a mass change.

I'm aware that I have veered away from the topic a little here so I'll try to bring it back.

Fencing, at least in my area, is the cheapest way to maintain a boundary. It will last between 10 and 30 years, depending on the quality of the posts and the site, before it needs to be re-installed. There are some hidden costs too, as the posts are usually treated and are probably damaging the land in some manner. This method also has the least ecological value.

Hedging is expensive to plant and time-consuming (or expensive) to lay. Hedge-laying produces a stock-proof barrier that eliminates the need for fencing when done well but, in practice, I usually see it in conjunction with fencing. A hedge provides enormous ecological value and is beautiful, before and after laying. Hedges also act as a source of food, fuel, medicine and they are a carbon sink. A hedge can last indefinitely if looked after.

Stone walling is the most expensive option, particularly if you live in an area without easy access to stone. If this is the case, it probably isn't very environmentally sound either as the stone will have to be delivered from a distance (costing money and carbon). Once built, a stone wall is beautiful and long-lasting. There are stone walls many hundreds of years old in my part of the world. The nooks and crannies between the stones are very important for reptiles, insects, mosses and lichens. A badly-made or low stone wall won't be stock proof and will need to be combined with either a hedge (often planted on top of a stone-lined "hedgebank") or a fence. The stone wall won't have to be repaired within your lifetime.

One thing I noted that has not been cited yet is that fencing often serves (2) purposes:

1. Keeping livestock animals in
2. Keeping predators out

I no longer have livestock, but when I did, there was a few times keeping out the neighbors dog and coyotes really protected my animals from certain harm. Just something to keep in mind, no matter how it is accomplished.

You could consider a junk pole fence, if appropriate, as shown here in a video by the boots at Wheaton Labs.

Barbed wire takes much less time and calories to install and (presumably) maintain, but will need to be replaced periodically which costs money.

In Australia fencing near my property lasts 40 -60 years, so replacement fencing is not an issue.
In fact I have fencing that must be 100 years old, the posts are almost gone and the wire isstill viable in a few places!

I always found field fencing to pencil out the best no matter what criteria I tried to use.

There is nothing cheap about electric fence, not only do you constantly have to maintain voltage on the conductors, it is really not effective on keeping in livestock, and predators out. I literally watched my sheep lay her neck up against a wire and pushed her way out through, never feeling the shock. Wool insulates after all. I checked the wire, 7000 volts. When animals get out, and here in Maine anyway, get struck by a car, the farmer must pay for the damages because we are obligated to keep our animals contained. Save just one modern car with all those front end sensors from getting smashed, not to mention the loss of your livestock, and a good fence pays for itself.

Barb wire is super cheap, but not easy to put up, and not very good with certain livestock like the sheep I had. It is also hard on deer that bounce into it in the night, and not to mention local kids.

Field fence though is pretty darn good. No voltage to maintain on the conductors, tall, keeps almost all livestock in, predators out, and is a build it once and forget it. With good posts, some planning, the lifespan is 30 years. That is pretty hard to beat when it takes 3 days to put up wire in a ten acre field, and lasts that long.

Steve Zoma wrote:I always found field fencing to pencil out the best no matter what criteria I tried to use.

Can I ask what you mean by "field fencing" for us international Permies?

Where I live, the most common field fence is known as "stock netting" or "sheep netting" and it looks like the image I've attached (ignore the funky gate hinge - we used a narrow post to hang the small, pedestrian gate!)

I know that fencing style varies a lot by locality/farming style and output.

@John
Is your climate hot/dry? Like I imagine much of Australia to be?

I have noticed that metal and wood last much longer in hot dry climates, than they do in wet climates. So that could be another factor in fencing... what climate you live in.

Steve Zoma wrote:I always found field fencing to pencil out the best no matter what criteria I tried to use.

I, too, am curious about what you mean by 'field fencing'.

Brian
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