Foundations of Fencing: Corner and brace systems for fence success

Are you intimidated by the thought of building your own fences? Or, have you tried and need a refresher on how to do it? Join Kent Solberg and Jonathan Kilpatrick, along with members of the Crow Wing River Basin Forage Council, for a day in the field learning about and building permanent fence systems. For many years, Kent owned and operated a fence contracting business, and for over 30 years has used and consulted on electric and permanent fence systems. Jonathan has built and maintained many different styles of fencing for many classes of livestock, and will assist Kent with teaching this workshop.

We will spend a portion of our time in a classroom setting going over the basics of permanent fence construction. Then we will actually construct four different types of bracing systems and corners, teach the New Zealand fencing knot, discuss insulator selection and installation, and will actually string fence wire. The four different brace systems that we will build will be the H-brace, the New Zealand diagonal brace, a Mule system, and a “deadman” brace. Properly installed corners and braces form the foundation of good fences, whether high tensile, woven wire, or barbed, so understanding this is key to fencing success. Fence building is both an art and a science, and properly built fences make for years of happy neighbors and livestock success.

This will be a very hands-on workshop, with plenty of time for you to get your hands dirty learning how to do the work. We are capping the attendance at 16 people, to allow for the best instructor-to-student interaction and to allow you to actually participate in the process.

Items to Bring:

• Good fitting leather gloves
• Safety glasses
• Water bottle (water will be provided)
• Sun hat
• Sunscreen

Registration: Registration is required, no walkups. $60/person. Boxed lunch provided. To request a vegetarian lunch or indicate food allergies, please contact Jim at hjc3020@gmail.com.

This event will be held unless there is a threat of severe weather.

Address: 233 Happy Dancing Turtle, Dancing Wind Road SW, Pine River, MN 56474 (Hunt Utilities Group campus)

SFA staff and volunteers occasionally take photos during our workshops, cafe chats and field days for promotional purposes and to use as documentation of events to share with our funders.  If you do not wish to be photographed, please let our event host know — we’ll make every effort to make sure you are not photographed.