Fence expertise fills fields

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Randy Cutler is a long-standing advocate for managed grazing in Wisconsin. He began grazing his own livestock in the 1970s and had a booth in 1993 at the first Wisconsin State Grazing Conference.

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Tristan Forget, Brooke Bembeneck and Sally Cutler

From left, Tristan Forget with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service; conservation-grazing analyst Brooke Bembeneck with Marathon County Conservation, Planning and Zoning; and Sally Cutler chat prior to the Cutler Fencing Field day near Milladore, Wisconsin.

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Asher Maliepaard with the Golden Sands Resource Conservation & Development Council helps organize the field-day event. He has a beef-cattle partnership with Randy Cutler; he grazes 30 head of cattle on Cutler's farm.

Greg Galbraith/For Agri-View

Conservation-grazing analyst Brooke Bembeneck helps organize and lead the field day through her work with Marathon County Conservation, Planning and Zoning.

Greg Galbraith/For Agri-View

Michelle Smith from Merrill, Wisconsin, attends the field day to gather as much practical information as possible. Because fence contractors are heavily booked for the summer, she and her husband are preparing to build their own fencing arrangement around a new pasture on their sheep and goat farm.

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Edward Borntrager, attending the field day with his son Matthew, 6, handles installations for Cutler Fence. He transitioned into it after a 'mentoring' phase from Randy Cutler.

Greg Galbraith/For Agri-View

Randy Cutler shows a fence-stretching bar necessary to tighten woven-wire fence.

Greg Galbraith/For Agri-View

A float valve is a necessary component for pasture watering systems. Randy Cutler stressed the importance of full flow valves that enable rapid filling of tanks by having a design that doesn't restrict water flowing to the tank.

Greg Galbraith/For Agri-View

Randy Cutler advises guests to look for portable pasture water tanks that are tough yet flexible, which allows them to take abuse from livestock and farm vehicles.

Greg Galbraith/For Agri-View

Randy Cutler's sheep efforts now are focused on raising Border Leicester breeding stock; rams are cleaning around his fencing-supply area. As a younger man he sheared as many as 1,000 sheep per year.

Greg Galbraith/For Agri-View

At Randy Cutler's feet are different types of Gallagher poly-wire. Poly-wire is flexible electric fencing that can be rolled and dispensed from portable reels. Cutler told guests it's important to have multiple strands of conductive wire in poly-wire. These products have nine separate strands of conductive. He describes poly-wire as the 'front line' of defense in a fencing system.

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Randy Cutler shows a Gallagher Smart Fence reel system that dispenses four strands at once to create a four-strand electric fence.

Greg Galbraith/For Agri-View

For farmers who build their own fences, Randy Cutler says having a pay-out spinner that dispenses high-tensile wire is an absolute must.

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Edward Borntrager demonstrates how to build a 'floating corner brace.' It only requires one post in the ground and is suitable for jobs that require a medium amount of tension on wires.

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Edward Borntrager talks with one of his full-time employees Allen Miller, 16, of Marion, Wisconsin.

Greg Galbraith/For Agri-View

Randy Cutler talks about the importance of a remote fault finder for electric-fence systems. When the load on electric wire becomes too great as a result of wet grass or wind-damaged tree limbs, problem areas can be detected by a fault finder. Some models can also turn the fence charger on or off from out in the pasture.

Greg Galbraith/For Agri-View

Allen Miller, left, and Edward Borntrager, center, construct an H-brace corner arrangement. An H-brace corner is stronger and able to maintain tension on heavier fences like woven wire.

Greg Galbraith/For Agri-View

In order for an H-brace corner system to maintain wire tension, the wire strainer that tightens the H-brace must be angled so there's pressure backward on the corner post.

Greg Galbraith/For Agri-View

When attaching ratchet strainers to high-tensile wires, Edward Borntrager ties off the wire ends with a method similar to a fishing knot. After several wraps of the end wire around the standing line, the heat produced allows a clean break from the tag end.

Greg Galbraith/For Agri-View

Greg Galbraith

Greg Galbraith For Agri-View

MILLADORE, Wis. – Guests who attended Randy Cutler’s recent Grazing Fence Demonstration Field Day near Milladore were able to glean information from an individual with a wealth of experience in the fence-contracting business. The event was hosted by Marathon County Conservation, Planning and Zoning along with the Golden Sands Resource Conservation & Development Council.

Greg Galbraith, a former dairy farmer, writes about the rapidly changing nature of the agricultural landscape. He has built a lifetime connection to the land and those who farm it.