Fencing Field Day

Henry County’s largest agriculture commodity is cattle, with over $10,991,000 in sales according to the 2017 Census of Agriculture. Because of this fact, a large part of my programming as a new agent has been centered on the industry. I work closely with the local Cattlemen’s Association chapter. I plan and facilitate the educational portion of their meetings, bringing in specialists to speak about various subjects. Many farmers have indicated to me their preference for more hands-on educational sessions. Fencing is a topic that has a lot of interest among livestock people in the county. Most fences have about a 30-year lifespan. Most of the fences in the county are reaching the end of their lifespan. There is also an increase in new farmers in the community, with many of them lacking the skills to build new fence where it is needed. Every year UK successfully teaches farmers proper fence-building techniques through their “fencing school.” After reaching out to the specialist who runs that program, I started to plan a shorter version of the fencing school partnering with a fence-building expert in the industry. I chose a nearby farm that was owned and operated by young farmers. The farm owners were participating in a number of cost-share projects through NRCS. I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to promote those programs to farmers. Additionally, the Henry County Conservation District had recently purchased a post-driver for their shared-use program. Using the driver, we were able to demonstrate the proper use of this equipment with an emphasis on safety. Around 77 people attended the field day. The fencing expert and I taught the attendees how to use the post driver, build a proper H-brace, stretch wire, and drive staples. This was all done hands-on. The attendees were very interested in the process, asking questions as we went along. Several had indicated that they had “always done it a certain way,” but after seeing how the fencing expert built it, were convinced otherwise. 5 separate individuals approached me after the program, stating that they had learned something new. One individual reached out a few days later, asking follow-up questions, and making purchasing decisions based on what they had learned at the fencing field day.