Project Overview
Commodities
- Animals: bovine, equine, goats, poultry, sheep
Practices
- Animal Production: grazing management, rangeland/pasture management
- Education and Training: extension
- Production Systems: integrated crop and livestock systems
Abstract:
Electric fencing technology is critical to the adoption of adaptive grazing management for livestock species, and for incorporation of livestock into integrated cropping and horticultural systems. Adaptive grazing management uses a variety of grazing techniques in a dynamic management approach, which when effectively employed decreases erosion, encourages deeper plant rooting to improve drought resilience, improves plant species diversity, and improves water quality. However, lack of understanding of how to maintain a high level of power on electric fences, troubleshoot fencing problems, and effectively using temporary electric fences has limited adoption, and in some cases, caused farmers to abandon adaptive grazing management. North Carolina State University led a team including NC, VA, SC, GA, AL and KY to conduct electric fence training for extension agents and other farmer advisors. The goal was to teach farm advisors how to teach farmers to effectively adopt and manage electric fence technology through a one-day hands-on course. A uniform training curriculum was developed, training sessions were planned in each state and "a temporary fence demonstration kit" was constructed for each state which is now available to the trained advisors to conduct subsequent farmer trainings. Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic all scheduled workshops had to be cancelled, and we modified our approach to still achieve the goals of the project. In Virginia the fence education was provided as part of a Graze300 program. Training for advisors in SC, GA, and AL was conducted as part of a 2-day training on forage management. In Kentucky we did conduct two full day sessions in Western and Eastern Kentucky. At all trainings participants learned the main components needed to successfully install and maintain electric fences, how to utilize this technology to improve grazing management and how to troubleshoot issues associated with electric fences. A total of 207 advisors and trainers participated in the training program. Temporary fence demonstration kits are being used in all six states to conduct producer education by the project participants.
Project objectives:
- Develop a clear understanding of how electric fences work and how to approach electric fence troubleshooting.
- Become familiar with the wide variety of permanent and temporary fencing technology available and its importance in adaptive grazing management.
- Learn how to conduct an effective training session on managing and troubleshooting electric fences for farmers by using the provided training materials and training kit.