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As do most farmers around Okarche, Oklahoma, Matt Alig once grew hard red winter wheat. He'd graze stocker cattle on the wheat over winter. He'd pull the cattle in March and harvest the wheat in midsummer.
Then came 1995, hand in hand with drought. "That year was my last wheat crop," he says. "The wheat ran 9 bushels to the acre. My limiting factors here are MPR: moisture, precipitation, and rainfall."
Alig overcame limitations by putting a new spin on the grazing of stocker cattle on cropland. Abandoning any intent to harvest grain, he now grows cover crops in spring and midsummer, then he no-till plants a multispecies grazing crop in late summer.
Summer Secret Weapon
Stocker cattle start grazing fields in early November and stay until early May. The cattle tip the scales at 900 pounds by the time they graze off the plant material.
The heavy weight of the cattle pays off, persisting even in drought. "Last year, it was awful, awful dry," says Alig. "Most farmers around here harvested a 15- to 20-bushel wheat crop. On my fields, the gain on the cattle was the equivalent of a 35-bushel crop of wheat."
Abundant forage production is key to getting good gain on the cattle. Summer-grown cover crops are the secret to getting the abundant forage.
"The cover crops keep the sun and wind off the ground, and that makes a huge difference in my area," says Alig. "Because of the cover crops, the soil temperature is much cooler. Where soil is not protected, soil temperature can be 130°F. at a depth of 4 inches below the surface. Nothing will germinate in that kind of heat."
Since the cover crop residue keeps the soil cool, Alig can plant his main grazing crops as early as late August. "I can get more growth early in the season and have lots of forage by the time the cattle come in," he says.
Alig no-till plants cover crops of sunn hemp and cowpeas the second week in May, after the cattle leave. "The sunn hemp is a tropical legume that has the potential to grow 6 feet tall," he says. "The cowpeas vine around the stalks of the hemp. Both crops fix nitrogen in the soil.”
After burning down the cover, he no-till plants the grazing crop in late August or the first of September. He seeds rye or triticale along with turnips, radishes, and two varieties of rapeseed. "Rye and triticale will produce more forage than wheat," he says.
By the time fields are ready to be grazed in early November, the rye or triticale will be 8 to 10 inches tall, and the radishes will reach a height of 18 inches.
The forage mix will test about 31% crude protein.
To stock both owned and rented fields, Alig sources 1,000 to 1,200 weanlings weighing 450 to 550 pounds. Cattle are typically backgrounded for 30 to 45 days and come from larger northern and western producers whose management practices tend to be predictable.
"Getting healthy calves plays an important role in being able to average 2½ pounds per day of gain,” he explains.
He owns some of the cattle and also custom-grazes a portion of the herd. "Custom grazing earns less profit than owning the cattle,” he says. "Because cattle prices are astronomical, the custom grazing reduces risk, and it generates cash flow.”
Upon arrival, Alig acclimates the calves by holding them in a small area where they can graze and get accustomed to the tubs of liquid supplement he sets out on pasture. The supplement helps the cattle adjust to the lush, high-protein pasture.
"I feed a molasses-base supplement that seems to help reduce bloat,” he says. "It slows down the calves' digestion of forage and makes their stools more solid.” The supplement contains 8% fat and 22% protein, of which 12% is urea.
Field pastures range in size from 120 to 160 acres. Alig stocks them at initial stocking rates, ranging from 500 to 800 pounds per acre. Stocking at these rates lets the calves fully develop to their end weight without being rotated to new pastures, which saves labor in the long run.
Before leaving in May, the cattle consume most of the standing forage. The rye and triticale will begin to regrow in March.
Large amounts of plant residue along with no-till planting of crops stabilize the soil surface, especially during wet conditions. "Because the cattle are never tramping in the mud, I don't have soil and plant degradation during wet weather," he says.
While Alig pays cash-rental rates commensurate with his area's market rate for cropland, other production costs are reduced from those of his previous system. For example, intensive grazing of cattle and continuous growth of summer cover crops have reduced the amount of nitrogen he applies by 25%.
Without the harvesting of a wheat crop, his payments for crop insurance are eliminated.
Equipment needs are reduced, as well. "I own a drill, a sprayer, and an unloading chute," he says. "I also own a truck for feeding cattle when snow covers the ground."
Over time, fields that have a long history of being grazed and of growing cover crops are showing greater productivity.
"Instead of bushels, I'm taking pounds of gain off the fields," says Alig. "The cattle return nutrients to the land, and because of better soil health, forage production has been increasing over time. This all results from building healthy soil.”
Better Soil Health
Conventional wisdom holds that Matt Alig's system of grazing cattle on his Okarche, Oklahoma, fields that have been no-tilled will lead to soil compaction from the trampling of the cattle.
The reverse has been true.
"A soil scientist did a lot of testing in my fields, and he concluded that the soil profile was among the best he'd seen,” says Alig.
Further improvements in soil health result from an apparent increase in beneficial insects that act as a check for predatory insects.
"I have not sprayed for aphids since I switched to no-till,” he says. "Along with the no-till, the diverse crops and the grazing of the cattle seem to be providing a habitat for good insects."

Justin Rhinehart, University of Tennessee Extension beef cattle specialist, offers tips this week on farm fencing:

One of the most expensive infrastructure investments for either small- or- large-scale cattle operations is fencing. In fact, one of the most limiting factors for putting new ground into cattle production is the cost of perimeter fencing.

As with most other farm structures, adequate investment during initial installation can help reduce maintenance costs and need for replacement in the future.

When planning a new permanent fence, location and design are very important because it can influence efficiency of production for many years to come. So, make sure to leave plenty of time for planning before installing new permanent fence and take the opportunity to redesign ineffective fencing when it is replaced. Two major considerations should be the location of water sources and working facilities.

In general, fencing can be considered in two classifications; perimeter fence and cross fence. Each of these require very different planning and materials. The perimeter fence requires materials that are more permanent and secure. They often establish property boundaries and can be important for public safety and biosecurity. Since the perimeter fence has so many important functions, it requires more input costs and planning.

Types of perimeter fence include woven wire, board or PVC, barbed wire or high-tensile. Some of these can also be electrified or installed in a combination of two different types. Board and PVC fencing are often cost-prohibitive and most often used for their aesthetic value. The most common perimeter fences are woven wire with one top strand of barbed wire or five strands of barbed wire. The longevity for both of these options has increased over the last decade with the use of new technologies in manufacturing.

Cross fencing is simply the fence used to manage where cattle graze inside the perimeter fence. It can be permanent, semi-permanent or temporary depending on the intended use. It is not necessary for cross fences to be as heavy duty as the perimeter since it is used as more of a management tool rather than strictly for safety and confinement. Forage resources are often wasted by not using cross fencing to manage where and for how long cattle graze within a farm’s perimeter.

Rotational grazing often seems like a management practice that is too complicated or daunting to implement. But, combining a solid perimeter fence with low-cost, easy to use and effective cross fencing (and accounting for water and shade) can make rotational grazing an attainable goal for small herd owners. Consider implementing rotational grazing on current large, open pastures to stretch grazing further into the fall.

The cost of fencing has increased dramatically in recent years. In fact, as mentioned above, the cost of fencing if often cited as the most limiting factor for putting new pasture into beef cattle production. Even though the cost has gone up, several improvements have been made in the quality, longevity and supporting technologies of fencing and fencing materials. As with many other inputs, using inferior low-cost materials to manage immediate cash flow issues can lead to increased cost across the lifetime of the fence. In other words, putting up cheap fences can cost more in the long run.

Tennessee is a “fence-in” state. This means the landowners are required to fence in their property to avoid damage by livestock. So, according to sources found while researching for this article, a cattle producer is not automatically liable for damage caused by cattle that get out of their fencing. But, if the cattle are determined to be “notoriously mischievous” (frequently escape) or the fence is determined to be neglected, the owner can be found liable. To more fully understand livestock fencing laws in this state, consult Tennessee Code Annotated Title 44, Chapter 8.

As with the other article in this series, a full description of all cattle fencing specifics cannot be covered in a popular press article format. Consider learning more about new fencing materials, better ways to maintain existing fences or using temporary cross fencing for rotational grazing and stock piling. Consult two publications from UT Extension titled “Planning and Building Fences on the Farm” and “Temporary Fencing for Rotational Grazing” or visit your local UT Extension office.

Rusty Evans, 648-5725

Montgomery County Extension Service

The Madras High Court bench here has directed the Forest Department to form a special team for taking action against farmers who put up high voltage electric fencing in the Tiger Reserve area near Kalakkad Mundanthurai in Tirunelveli district.

Justices R Sudhakar and VM Velumani gave the direction while hearing a PIL filed by S Ramesh Kumar, an advocate, who charged that high power electric fencing had been installed without any permission to protect crops.

The petitioner submitted that recently a bear had electrocuted in Kadayam forest near the tiger reserve.

As per rules, permission was granted only for solar-powered electric fencing with 23 volt capacity. But farmers installed electric fence without the knowledge of the Forest Department, supplying 230 volt power.

It's kind of like walking straight into an electric fence, or getting shot with a stun gun. That's how one biologist describes the experience of getting zapped by an electric eel.

"You wouldn't voluntarily do it over and over again," said Kenneth Catania, a professor of biological sciences at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and author of a new study about the electric eels' shocking behavior.

Catania has been zapped a few times since he began studying the electric eel (Electrophorus electricus), a fish that's indigenous to the murky waters of the Amazon. Endowed with three electricity-producing organs, E. electricus can send a pulse, or volley, of high-voltage electricity through the water toward prey items. These shocks aren't meant to kill the prey, just demobilize it so the eel can more easily consume its victims, Catania told Live Science. [Video: Watch an Electric Eel Curl Around Its Prey]

To envision how the eel uses its electric charge, try picturing the critter's long, thin body as a skinny magnet. Like a magnet, the eel has two ends, or poles. When the animal sends out an electric pulse, most of the charge comes from its head, which Catania calls the "positive pole." The eel's tail serves as the "negative pole," sending out a much weaker electric pulse than the head, Catania said.

Most of the time, E. electricus just needs the charge from its head to demobilize prey. However, the tail end of the eel is actually quite important, Catania's new study shows. By bringing its tail around toward its head, an electric eel can double the strength of the electric pulse it sends out into the water, allowing it to demobilize larger prey items, the study found.

To measure the energy output of a curling eel, Catania rigged up a sort of eel chew toy by attaching a dead fish to a piece of wire. The fish was fitted with electrodes that could measure the voltage produced by the eel. Then, Catania stuck the chew toy in the tank with the eel and wiggled the toy around, simulating struggling prey. Sure enough, the eels tended to wrap themselves around the fish, and when they did so, they delivered at least twice their usual zap of electricity, Catania found.

The lives of locals from many villages are at risk over the malfunction of an electric fence set up from Minneri-Oya to Pamburana.

These locals say that this situation has resulted in wild elephants breaking through the fence, and storming into villages.

The construction of this electric fence commenced over a year ago in order to prevent wild elephants from the Somawathi National Reserve from storming into the villages.

Although the construction is almost complete, it has not been made public as yet. This is the fate that had befallen on the electric fence even before it is put into operation. (Please see video)

Wild elephants from the Somawathi Forest have damaged this electric fence at several locations. The 10 kilometre long stretch of the fence from Minneri Oya to Pamburana is yet to benefit the locals in the areas.

The S10 S​olar Energizer is the newest electric fence charger of the Gallagher Solar Energizer Line-up.  This compact, robust solar energizer that comes with a rechargeable battery and solar panel is a convenient and cost-effective alternative to battery-powered energizers.​

We think its worth the extra money to buy a lightning arrestor or diverter for a few bucks... check out this fence charger that got blown up by a strike. www.valleyfarmsupply.com