Ideas, News, Information, Stories & Opinions

Having an issue with your electric fence or the fence charger or energizer making your livestock fence hot? Contact us at www.valleyfarmsupply.com or our repaire and troubleshooting partner www.fencerfixer.com We are here to help you fix your fence or offer you a better electric fence solution for your farm or ranch.

Understand Cattle Scales Here! There are several basic considerations to understand when choosing a set of cattle scales from Gallagher, Digistar, or Trutest.

The first considerations is ask yourself , How will I be weighing my beef cattle? Scale options are available for permanent operations such as squeeze chutes or for portable systems such as in a work area or corral alleyway.

The second questions to ask yourself is, what do I need from my scale readout or indicator? Several indicator options are available for trutest, gallagher and digistar.

• Do you want a scale head that simply displays the weight?
• Do you want a scale to have internal memory?
• Do you require an EID reader compatible scale system?

Visit our website www.valleyfarmsupply.com to learn more about the features and how to use a cattle / livestock scale.

Here is a guide of useful ways to choose which cattle / livestock scale indicator, load bar set, and scale a platform will work best for on your farm or ranch.

Now days. Cattle Ranchers and Farmers understand that livestock weighing is an essential tool for farm and ranch management. Capable and reliable, and yet so simple to use - Gallagher Animal Management Smart Scale provides a weighing solution that contributes to more profitability and takes the hassle out of livestock management.
The regular weighing of live animals is vital to increased productivity and profitability. Well-informed management decisions come from animal weight data that is easily obtained and accurate.

Check out our complete line of cattle scales here at www.gallagherelectricfencing.com 

Which Scale to buy? Find reviews and great deals on Livestock Scales and Electric Fence Livestock Supplies. We supply scales to Cattle Ranchers, Farmers, Livestock breeders for livestock weighing for better livestock management.

check out our cattle and livestock scale page at www.gallagherelectricfencing.com 

Is your electric fence working? Going to build a electric fence system for your animals? Check out this video from our Gallagher electric fence superstore to understand how livestock or farm electric fencing works.

 click here.

thanks for watching our video, hope you understand it now.

Learning to shear sheep is important. Understanding these six shearing positions will allow you to keep the sheep safe and comfortable while also letting your legs do the work for you (saving your back). We've also included an exciting bonus at the end of this post ... a complete step-by-step sheep shearing guide, detailing each of the 6 steps you'll see in this video.6 Key Positions to Shearing a Sheep (Step-by-Step Guide)

Here's a list of the 6 positions covered in the video above. Feel free to print these off for reference as you're learning how to shear a sheep.

1.Sheep Sitting on its Rump - To get the sheep in this position stand by its side with your feet set wide apart on either side of its shoulder. Plant your feet and slip your left thumb into its mouth behind its incisors and in front of its molars, twisting its head firmly back toward its far shoulder. In the same motion push the sheep's rump toward the ground with your right hand. When the sheep starts to sit down pull the sheep's front legs up and sit it comfortably one one flank, holding its shoulders securely with your knees.

2. Sheep Sitting on its Right Hip, Leaning Against Your Legs - After you've sheared its belly and between its legs, let the sheep sit back on its right hip, leaning against your legs as you support its shoulders with your knees. This will allow you to shear it's left rear leg, from the hip to the tail all the way up to the spine. It's important to bend from the waist to reach the sheep's rump in this position so you do not injure your back.

3. Sheep Sitting Straight Up on its Rump - After you've finished shearing the sheep's left rear leg sit it up straight on its rump, stepping between its legs with your right leg, the toe of your foot under its flank and locking your knee between the sheep's breastbone and right foreleg. With your left leg support the sheep's back so it feels secure and doesn't struggle. This will allow you to shear the sheep's neck and head.

4. Sheep Laying on its Right Side - Once you've cleaned off the head, neck and left shoulder, keep your right foot exactly where it is but let the sheep's front end down gently, stepping back with your left foot and supporting the sheep's right shoulder. This will ensure that none of the sheep's feet or legs touch the floor ... very important as the sheep will struggle if it senses it can might be able to regain its footing. Once the sheep is in this position make long cuts along its side and back, continuing as far as you can reach without rolling the sheep so it can touch the ground with its feet. Try to make two full passes on the far side of the sheep's back.

5. Sheep Laying on its Right Hip, Neck Bent Between Your Legs - From this position kick your right foot out around the fiber, pulling it back in toward the sheep's body and then gently pull the sheep's head up, bending her neck back across her left shoulder and holding the head in that position with your legs. In this position clean off the wool that remains on her head and begin working down her neck and right shoulder. After you've cleared the shoulder and front right leg, grip the sheep's right elbow with your left hand to pull the skin taught and continue to support the sheep's head and neck with your legs, bending your knees in around its body and pointing your toes in at an angle beneath the sheep's hips.

6. Sheep on its Left Hip, Head & Four Legs in front of you, Leaning on Your Legs - In this final position you have a clear view of where you need to go to finish shearing the sheep. The right leg, hip and rump are the only areas which still have wool at this point. Shear the front of the right rear leg and then work down toward the rump and tail until you free the last of the wool from the sheep.

Buy here! Grass farming supplies for the modern-day grazing farmer. Are you looking for electric fencing and tools for mob grazing or rotational grazing? Visit our website at www.gallagherelectricfencing.com and find out more about things you need to make your grass farm operation more efficient and profitable.

Have you tried the Gallagher Tumblewheel system? Tumble wheel's are a great tool for any rotational grazing operation. A tumble wheels rolls across the field while holding electric fence wire inside of the spindle. Tumble wheels are easy to move and a great tool.

Another great tool for any rotational grazing operation is the Gallagher smart fence. The smart fence is a retractable and extendable electric fence system that you set up on your farm. You can make different size paddocks up to 330 feet long. It's easy to put electric fence to it and energize the system. The Gallagher smart fence is available from www.gallagherelectricfencing.com.

Visit our website and learn more about the things you need for your farm or ranch if you're interested in mob grazing, Pasture rotations, or grass farming for your livestock.

Most people don’t think too much about their power supply. As long as you pay your electric bill, you’re generally able to simply plug your tool or device into a wall socket and power it up. However, not all power supplies are the same. Most (North American) homes, for instance, are powered by single-phase power. This form of power supply is perfect for homes and small businesses. It allows users to power lights, computers, televisions, cash registers, and small appliances.

However, if you run a factory, operate industrial tools, run a data center, or operate a business that requires you to power certain commercial devices, industrial motors, or processing computers, you will need to use 3-phase power. But what’s the difference between these two power supplies?

3-Phase Power Explained

3-phase power is a type of alternating current (AC) power generation and supply, which basically means that the flow of electricity within a circuit periodically changes direction. Alternating current is the primary method by which power is distributed within homes and businesses.

3-phase power is the most common form of alternating current power distribution on electrical grids. By using less material to transmit power than a single-phase power supply, 3-phase power is a more efficient form of power distribution, and a cheaper option, too.

How It Works

The electricity from the aptly named 3-phase power supply is delivered by three conductors carrying an alternating current. Each conductor uses the same frequency and voltage amplitude, but with a phase separation of one third of a cycle, or 120 electrical degrees.

This means that within each cycle, each of the three conductors reaches its peak at uniformly separate occurrences, which helps to reduce generator and motor vibrations. The waveform of 3-phase power dictates that the electrical load is constant. The consistency of 3-phase power is what makes it a useful way to deliver power to large motors, data centers, and more.

Efficient Power Supply

The major advantage of 3-phase power over single-phase power is efficiency. Machines that use 3-phase power can be smaller, lighter, and ultimately more economical. Moreover, 3-phase power allows you to supply more power to your tools, motors, and devices. A great way to extend this benefit to even more of your tools and devices is to use a multi-outlet extension cord.

The efficiency of a 3-phase power supply frees you up to power more devices at a lower cost. This balanced, economical power supply allows you to run the devices you need, all the while using less power, getting better results, and maximizing the life of your equipment.

Get the Right Equipment for Your Power Supply

If you are in the market for new equipment, need to add additional processors to your data center, or are thinking about increasing your industrial operation, make sure to read up on what kind of power supply you’ll need for your gear. Switching to a 3-phase power supply can make your equipment more efficient, save money, and extend the life of your tools and supplies.

Buy here! Electric fence posts are important tool in temporary fencing, rotational grazing, or moving pasture around. High-quality Gallagher brand electric fence posts are a great tool to have on any farm. We offer tread-in posts, pigtail posts and now the new Gallagher ring top posts.

Gallagher makes heavy duty, high-quality temporary step and posts for all kinds of animal applications for any farm or ranch. Visit our website at www.gallagherelectricfencing.com and see the selection of fence posts we have to offer. If you're farmer and rancher interested in mob grazing, or rotational grazing visit our website at www.valleyfarmsupply.com and check out our resource page for information about modern grass farming practices.

Horses can be stubborn creatures and electric fence is an ideal way to keep them safe and sound. There are many options and electric fence wire and tape for containing your valuable horses.

If you choose to use a wide tape be careful that it's not too wide, more than 2 inches for example. Today I went by a horse farm and saw where wide tape really took a beating from the wind and looked bad on the farm.

We sell Gallagher brand horse tape and it works extremely well. The Gallagher brand horse tape is available in half inch or inch and a half sizes. Check here to see our selection from Gallagher.

Electric fencing tape requires you to keep the fence tight. A big plus with electric fence taping for horses is that it's highly visible. The big drawback to electric fence tape for horses is that it will take a pounding from the weather. Wind can really beat up the fence if you don't keep it tight.