The Irish Farmers Journal recently visited John and Gearoid Kearney’s farm in Ballintubber, Co Roscommon. The Kearneys successfully applied to the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) II for funding to erect sheep fencing on their farm.
Local fencing contractor Francis Regan was given the task to erect a total of 1,100m of sheep fencing on the farm. TAMS II offers substantial grant aid towards the cost of erecting sheep fencing. According to the Department of Agriculture, sheep fencing has been a popular investment item in TAMS since it was opened for applications in 2016.
There are a number of different types of sheep fencing acceptable through the scheme including:
One strand of barbed wire with sheep wire.Two strands of barbed wire with sheep wire.One strand of electric wire, plus one strand of barbed wire with sheep wire.One strand of electric wire and one plain sheep wire.Bank/stone wall reduced height fence.One strand of electric wire with sheep wire.The Kearneys decided to go with one-strand electric wire, plus one-strand barbed wire with sheep wire for their fence. To erect sheep wire under TAMS, there are a number of specifications to be followed to ensure you complete the work to the Department’s standards and receive grant aid.
These specifications are available on the Department’s website under S148. Francis Regan showed us how he erects sheep wire for the scheme. In this article, we outline the main steps he takes when erecting fencing.
1
Francis usually uses timber, creosoted posts. Other materials are allowed in the scheme, including concrete and steel posts once they are approved by the Department.
He starts with the straining posts. “I put in the strainers first and tie one strand of plain wire at the bottom of these posts, which acts as a guideline so that the intermediate stakes are driven in a straight line. It also means the sheep wire will not be buried in grass in the future,” he explained.
To meet the Department specs, strainer posts must be at least, 2.1m long and a minimum of 175mm diameter. Strainers must be provided at the beginning and end of every length of fencing, at gaps or openings, at every change of direction where the angle is greater than 30° and to accommodate any significant change in gradient.
Where long runs of fencing are to be erected, the maximum distance between strainer posts must not exceed 100m, except in cases where the run is straight and free of undulations, in which case the spacing of strainers must not exceed 350m. Francis usually includes a stay post anchored against the strainer and the ground in an angle to prevent it from moving when it comes under pressure. Where land is very wet, he would erect a H-frame to hold the strainers steady.
2
Both the strainers and the intermediate posts are driven into the ground using a post driver.
Francis commented that this summer, it was particularly tough to drive stakes because the ground was so hard.
In TAMS II, intermediate posts must be at least 1.8m long, a minimum of 100mm in diameter and driven at least 500mm into the ground. They must also be spaced at no more than 5m intervals. Francis puts them in at 4m for a more solid job.
With all of the intermediate posts in place, the sheep wire can be erected. For the scheme, sheep fencing wire must be a minimum of 800mm high with a minimum of eight horizontal wires. For sheep fencing constructed strictly on banks or stone walls, the sheep wire must be a minimum of 500mm high.
3
Francis ties and staples the sheep wire to one strainer, rolls it out using a bar on his quad and ties and staples it to the other strainer.
He has two options for straining wire – either gripples or tensioning frames. In short runs, he uses gripples. Gripples are small steel joiners that have internal mechanisms for holding wire under high loads. With the gripple system, the rolled-out sheep wire is cut in the middle of the run, the gripples are then used to re-join the wire and a grippling tool is used to put the wire under tension .
“In short runs, the gripples are a tidier job. They rarely slip and if they do they can be tightened again,” explained Francis.
With the frame system, the wire is again cut halfway along the run. Each frame is clamped to the sheep wire and tensioning chains connected to the top and bottom of the frames are used to put the wire under tension. The wire is held under this tension using steel crimps that are squeezed together using a crimping tool before the frames are removed.
4
When the sheep wire is strained, Francis staples it to the intermediate posts.
He uses four staples per post. Next, he puts up the barbed wire. The barbed wire is tied to one post and is strained off the other strainer post using wire pullers. Francis’ tip for working out the space to leave between the sheep wire and barbed wire is the same as the width of the claw hammer head.
The same distance applies between the barbed wire and the electric wire. When erecting the electric wire, he uses a reel to roll out the wire. Egg insulators are used between the posts and the wire is strained using pullers or gripples, depending on the length of the run.
According to the Department, to qualify for sheep fencing an applicant must own and possess a yearly average of 40 adult sheep (weaned lamb or older) at the time of application or at the latest by the date the claim is submitted for payment. Applicants must maintain a sheep enterprise for at least five years from the date of payment of grant aid. For lowland areas, sheep mesh wire with one strand of wire costs €5.34/linear metre on the Department’s reference cost list.
For mountain sheep mesh wire with one strand of wire, the Department has a reference costing of €8.01/linear metre. A gateway is costed at €299. For general applicants, the grant rate for completed work is 40% of the cost. Qualifying young trained farmers can claim up to 60% towards the costs.
The Irish Farmers Journal recently visited John and Gearoid Kearney’s farm in Ballintubber, Co Roscommon. The Kearneys successfully applied to the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) II for funding to erect sheep fencing on their farm.
Local fencing contractor Francis Regan was given the task to erect a total of 1,100m of sheep fencing on the farm. TAMS II offers substantial grant aid towards the cost of erecting sheep fencing. According to the Department of Agriculture, sheep fencing has been a popular investment item in TAMS since it was opened for applications in 2016.
There are a number of different types of sheep fencing acceptable through the scheme including:
One strand of barbed wire with sheep wire.Two strands of barbed wire with sheep wire.One strand of electric wire, plus one strand of barbed wire with sheep wire.One strand of electric wire and one plain sheep wire.Bank/stone wall reduced height fence.One strand of electric wire with sheep wire.The Kearneys decided to go with one-strand electric wire, plus one-strand barbed wire with sheep wire for their fence. To erect sheep wire under TAMS, there are a number of specifications to be followed to ensure you complete the work to the Department’s standards and receive grant aid.
These specifications are available on the Department’s website under S148. Francis Regan showed us how he erects sheep wire for the scheme. In this article, we outline the main steps he takes when erecting fencing.
1
Francis usually uses timber, creosoted posts. Other materials are allowed in the scheme, including concrete and steel posts once they are approved by the Department.
He starts with the straining posts. “I put in the strainers first and tie one strand of plain wire at the bottom of these posts, which acts as a guideline so that the intermediate stakes are driven in a straight line. It also means the sheep wire will not be buried in grass in the future,” he explained.
To meet the Department specs, strainer posts must be at least, 2.1m long and a minimum of 175mm diameter. Strainers must be provided at the beginning and end of every length of fencing, at gaps or openings, at every change of direction where the angle is greater than 30° and to accommodate any significant change in gradient.
Where long runs of fencing are to be erected, the maximum distance between strainer posts must not exceed 100m, except in cases where the run is straight and free of undulations, in which case the spacing of strainers must not exceed 350m. Francis usually includes a stay post anchored against the strainer and the ground in an angle to prevent it from moving when it comes under pressure. Where land is very wet, he would erect a H-frame to hold the strainers steady.
2
Both the strainers and the intermediate posts are driven into the ground using a post driver.
Francis commented that this summer, it was particularly tough to drive stakes because the ground was so hard.
In TAMS II, intermediate posts must be at least 1.8m long, a minimum of 100mm in diameter and driven at least 500mm into the ground. They must also be spaced at no more than 5m intervals. Francis puts them in at 4m for a more solid job.
With all of the intermediate posts in place, the sheep wire can be erected. For the scheme, sheep fencing wire must be a minimum of 800mm high with a minimum of eight horizontal wires. For sheep fencing constructed strictly on banks or stone walls, the sheep wire must be a minimum of 500mm high.
3
Francis ties and staples the sheep wire to one strainer, rolls it out using a bar on his quad and ties and staples it to the other strainer.
He has two options for straining wire – either gripples or tensioning frames. In short runs, he uses gripples. Gripples are small steel joiners that have internal mechanisms for holding wire under high loads. With the gripple system, the rolled-out sheep wire is cut in the middle of the run, the gripples are then used to re-join the wire and a grippling tool is used to put the wire under tension .
“In short runs, the gripples are a tidier job. They rarely slip and if they do they can be tightened again,” explained Francis.
With the frame system, the wire is again cut halfway along the run. Each frame is clamped to the sheep wire and tensioning chains connected to the top and bottom of the frames are used to put the wire under tension. The wire is held under this tension using steel crimps that are squeezed together using a crimping tool before the frames are removed.
4
When the sheep wire is strained, Francis staples it to the intermediate posts.
He uses four staples per post. Next, he puts up the barbed wire. The barbed wire is tied to one post and is strained off the other strainer post using wire pullers. Francis’ tip for working out the space to leave between the sheep wire and barbed wire is the same as the width of the claw hammer head.
The same distance applies between the barbed wire and the electric wire. When erecting the electric wire, he uses a reel to roll out the wire. Egg insulators are used between the posts and the wire is strained using pullers or gripples, depending on the length of the run.
According to the Department, to qualify for sheep fencing an applicant must own and possess a yearly average of 40 adult sheep (weaned lamb or older) at the time of application or at the latest by the date the claim is submitted for payment. Applicants must maintain a sheep enterprise for at least five years from the date of payment of grant aid. For lowland areas, sheep mesh wire with one strand of wire costs €5.34/linear metre on the Department’s reference cost list.
For mountain sheep mesh wire with one strand of wire, the Department has a reference costing of €8.01/linear metre. A gateway is costed at €299. For general applicants, the grant rate for completed work is 40% of the cost. Qualifying young trained farmers can claim up to 60% towards the costs.
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