The quality of a horse farm is often only as good as the fences around it, and the Wilson sisters appreciate that fact more than most.

The sisters Vicki, Kelly and Amanda have had more than their share of horses injured after being caught in fences and gates, and spent many hours tending injured horses and putting the offending fencing right.

But in the past year they have had some welcome relief from the upsetting and stressful encounters between horses and fences, thanks to having their property made far more “horse friendly” using Gallagher Equine Fence systems.

Working with Gallagher and the Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand the sisters have fenced well over two thirds of their Northland property with the Gallagher system that incorporates specially designed Equine Fence Wire, gates, outriggers and now the innovative new Insulated Line Posts.

With a year’s experience having the system in place, Kelly says they have come to realise how stressful and unnecessary horse injuries from fences and gates are when avoided by having a good system in place.

“In the 12 months we have had the system in place we have had no wire cuts or accidents from the fences or gates where we have the Gallagher system in place. But we have had seven on the remaining conventional fences, and one horse had to be retired from riding because of the injury she sustained.”

Other horses have also sustained small wire cuts requiring attention to avoid them becoming infected.

“I think what we have learned is that we now know it is preventable, they are accidents that with the right fencing, you can avoid.”

The sisters are working over coming months to replace the remaining traditional wire fences with Gallagher Equine Wire. The wire has a unique electrified polymer design with wide diameter and smooth coating that reduces the risk of it becoming entangled with a horse’s hoof, leg or head.

This has avoided the injuries Kelly has witnessed where the high tensile wire becomes entangled between the horse’s hoof and shoe, at worst electrocuting the animal.

Similarly, all the gates have been replaced with Gallagher Equimaster Gates, designed to minimise any risk of horses getting their heads or hooves caught in the gate’s railings.

Grid mesh welded to the gate frame eliminates the risk of mesh separating and providing a means for hooves to become caught between it and the frame.

“We have had horses go over gates and get their back legs caught, or get their heads caught between gate railings. We changed the gates over and in the past year have had none of those accidents.”

Kelly is particularly impressed with the newly released Gallagher Insulated Line Posts.

Designed to be easily transported around the farm, and set up with minimum fuss, their adjustability means they can provide a tailor made solution to containing horses, sheep, cattle and deer.

“We found they were extremely easy to set up, the three of us laid out a whole paddock ourselves in only about half an hour. The fact you can move the snap on clips up or down means to you can set up the fence and the wires exactly as you want them to be.”

The sisters have used the fence system to subdivide a larger paddock, and alongside the river bank to keep horses out of the water.

At present the sisters are running a wide variety of horses, ranging from three different breeds of wild horses, the horse Vicki trained and won in the World Championship of Colt Starting event in March, and a number of Olympic standard show jumpers.

Kelly said she has much more peace of mind knowing all are well contained, and less likely than ever to injure themselves around the family property.

“We have come to realise with the fence system just how avoidable some of these injuries are, and we are working hard to remove the last of the old fencing.”

Dry Vegetation

There is a misconception that dry vegetation touching an electric fence can cause fires – this is extremely unlikely. In order to create a short, vegetation needs to be damp or green so therefore the vegetation will not ignite. Once vegetation dries out it becomes non-conductive meaning any short created disappears.

The only conceivable but still very unlikely scenario where an electric fence could start a fire is when a wire shorts to an earthed metal object, such as a steel post or wire where insulators have broken, in the presence of abundant dry vegetation. This scenario is very unlikely to occur in practice, and even less so on a well-maintained fence. Farmers with fences on steel posts or using earthed wires are advised to ensure the livewires are well insulated and the fence is clear of vegetation. If these factors are of concern then on days of severe or above fire risk, consider switching the energiser off.

Earthing

In dry conditions, the earth system attached to your Energizer will become less effective. Typically, dry conditions lead to higher fence voltages, low fence load (as vegetation is non-conductive when dry) and fences that do not create as good a shock as normal (depending on the quality of the earth system). If your electric fences are not controlling stock effectively in dry conditions, solutions such as Gallagher Super Earth Kits are available to improve your earth system. Gallagher i Series Fence Energizers also have an adjustable output target voltage, so can be turned down in dry conditions to reduce higher fence voltages. We also recommend a return earth fence design for all permanent fences in Australia.

Induction

Induction is another problem that occurs in dry weather. A common scenario is getting a shock off a steel gate or a non-live wire in an electric fence. This happens when current flows down a wire alongside an adjacent, effectively insulated wire not directly coupled to the electric fence. A voltage is then induced in the adjacent wire. This is more likely in dry conditions because the posts the non-live wire is connected to become insulators when dry. The solution to this problem is to earth the offending wire or gate by pushing a wire into the ground and stapling this across the non-live wires at the strainer post. Induction is not considered a fire risk whatsoever. Vegetation conductive enough to cause a short will effectively earth the non-live wire and prevent induction from occurring.

If your electric fence is not working as well as it should, or you would like further explanation of the above, please contact your local Territory Manager or Tech Support team on 1800 425 524

Leading developer of virtual fencing technology, Agersens, is now part of Gallagher Group under a strategic change of ownership that will allow us to further improve the solution and accelerate commercial expansion across Australian and international markets.

Agersens, which was founded by Ian Reilly, designed and developed the eShepherd platform to allow graziers to control the location and movement of cattle using a web application and an intelligent, solar-powered neckband connected to the internet via a base station. Testing, including a fully-subscribed beta trial programme, shows the technology is proving effective in rotational grazing and protection of riparian zones.

Leading the Agersens team over the past two years is Jason Chaffey, who said Agersens and Gallagher shared a common vision for farm automation, expansion into global markets and partnering with industry to provide tools that facilitate data-driven decision making.

“Gallagher’s long and respected history in livestock management, international reach and vision, not only for virtual fencing but for promoting a more efficient, productive and sustainable grazing industry, means it is ideally placed to provide a strong foundation for the future growth of eShepherd,” Jason said.

“Agersens and Gallagher will work closely to maximise synergies and grow commercialisation of eShepherd, a technology we are confident will be a game-changer for livestock production.

“eShepherd is performing well at our test sites across Australia and New Zealand and the acquisition by Gallagher will accelerate growth and development of the product, to move towards providing producers in multiple markets with access to this tool which can genuinely improve the efficiency, profitability and sustainability of grazing businesses,” Jason added.

Gallagher Chief Executive Officer & Executive Director Kahl Betham says the company is delighted to add this new technology to the Gallagher lineup.

“For over 80 years, Gallagher has led the way in the agricultural industry.  This acquisition further cements our commitment to investing in new ways of farming that will support customers with smarter, simpler solutions that make farm life easier and more profitable.

“We are thrilled to be adding further talent to the Gallagher family and are excited about what we can achieve together through our combined passion for innovation and customer experience,” Kahl added.

We first began investing in eShepherd in 2016.  The acquisition will be finalised by 21 June 2021 at which time the current Agersens team of around 35 people will transition to Gallagher, under the overall leadership of Lisbeth Jacobs, Global General Manager for Animal Management.

Find out more about eShepherd here.

What do you use to enclose four cute and furry Cheetah that can reach land speeds of up to 130km/h and jump up to three metres high in the air? A Gallagher fencing system.

When Hamilton Zoo needed to upgrade its cheetah enclosure to prepare for the arrival of their four young cheetah boys, Radi, Bomani, Manni and Denzel, they decided to use Gallagher products.

Hamilton Zoo Asset Manager, Jesse Golden, says the zoo transferred the boys from Taronga Dubbo Western Plains Zoo, in Australia, but their journey to Hamilton is only one small part of the story. Hamilton Zoo staff worked for nearly 12 months beforehand to create the perfect enclosure for them.

“There was a really detailed design process we went through which involved seeing what has been learned in the past and what other zoos are doing with their cheetah. We also knew we wanted a closer experience for our visitors,” says Jesse.

The boys arrived in Hamilton in early April and have settled in well to their new home. Denzel, Radi and Bomani are brothers, while Manni was born one month earlier at Monarto in South Australia.

“The boys have settled in beautifully. They were happy to be reunited after the flight and there was plenty of purring, yelps, barks and grooming each other,” says Jesse.

Jesse says Hamilton Zoo settled on a Gallagher fencing system as they were confident it could safely contain their four young cheetah, while still offering a great viewing experience for their visitors.

“We added more viewing windows to the enclosure to create a closer experience for visitors, but we also used a black mesh fence which is easier to see through and easier for visitors to take photos through,” says Jesse.

The cheetah fence was installed by Barakat Contractors.

Owner Dale Barakat says about 1km of Gallagher High Conductive Lead Out Wire and Gallagher Double Insulated Cable was used in the project which saw them add three offset electrified wires around the enclosure.

“We used the Gallagher Wood Post Live Tip Offset at the top of the fence, through the middle and at the bottom and Gallagher Double Insulated Cable to set it all up. It’s electrified using a Gallagher MBS800 Multi Powered Energizer,” says Dale.

The job also involved digging a trench around the enclosure and filling it with rock and installing wooden boards to the bottom of the fence and digging them into the ground so the boys can’t dig themselves out of the enclosure.

Right beside the boys’ new home are the Giraffe, Zebra, Goats and Deer, says Jesse.

“The boys are in their enclosure and they can see through to their neighbours. They have been really interested in the Zebra and looking at them a lot.”

Jesse says the new fence looks stunning.

“The boys are very happy in their new environment and we are very happy with the new fence that we know is keeping them safe,” says Jesse.

Across 475 hectares of some of New Zealand’s most scenic farmland in mid-Canterbury, a beef farming operation is successfully being run on a tight rotational grazing system, similar to a dairy farm.

A permanent electric fencing solution from Gallagher has been key to making it happen. The property is known as Glenview and is owned by former Anzco Foods founder Sir Graeme Harrison. Sir Graeme’s total farm area in the mid-Canterbury region covers over 2,300 hectares and encompasses properties at Mt Alford, Pudding Hill and Highbank. The most recent addition is Glenview, where the farm has been completely overhauled with a new fencing system from Gallagher. Farm manager Jack Dwyer says the fencing solution allows them to run a sharp rotational grazing system on the Glenview property, like that found on most New Zealand dairy farms.

“It is an intensive operation, so we want to make it pay for itself,” says Jack. “To help us manage our animals effectively, we tore out almost all the fencing and re-fenced more than 60kms of the property using Gallagher’s electric fencing solution, including powering it up with Gallagher energizers.” Each paddock is about eight hectares in size, divided in the middle with a two-wire fence. This allows sheep to go underneath, but cattle to be effectively managed. There are water troughs one quarter and three quarters along the two-wire fence. It means each four-hectare half can be split into four one hectare or eight half hectare grazing strips.

“This set up means we can run short sharp rotational grazing where we get mobs of 40 to 50 cattle doing a 24-day rotation in one eight-hectare paddock if the growth is adequate,” says Jack. As the grazing rotation continues into summer, lambs are brought into the system and replace cattle in some paddocks. Mobs of between 800 and 1,400 lambs follow in the rotation and are given the full eight hectares to graze out.

“It’s been a system of trial and error. We’ve spent the last few years figuring out what works and what doesn’t, but the Gallagher system and gear has been absolutely key to helping us manage feed and maximise animal productivity,” says Jack. “The system also allows us to easily drop out halves of paddocks to be cut for supplementary feed.” A similar fencing set-up has also been recently installed at the Highbank property, which also grows supplementary feed for the rest of the operation.

Across all the farms, the operation runs a total of 2,700 Perrindale ewes, with plans to lift that number to about 4,000 over the next couple of years. They calved 500 Angus cows this season and last season raised 240 Angus steers to Five Star Beef and finished 830 Friesian bulls, and 4000 lambs, with hopes to see those numbers rise in the next few seasons. “It is a complex operation, but our Gallagher fencing solution gives us the peace of mind we need. We can use the technology as much or as little as we want to help us run an efficient and productive farm business.”

Jack and his team use an M10,000i and an M6000i energizer on Glenview, a M10,000i at Pudding Hill and an M10,000i at Mt Alford. They use Gallagher’s Ag Devices App to make sure everything runs smoothly, and stock are kept safe and where they should be. “The Ag Devices App allows us to see when the amps are coming off and you can see what’s normal and what’s not. It will throw up an alarm when there is a fault and if the power falls below a set level. Because the farm is divided into blocks you can use Fence Monitors to isolate and find the faults within 10 minutes, which is crucial for the size of the operation we’re running,” says Jack.

Jack says the Gallagher system also enables them to better manage cattle in the small rotational grazing areas. “When you have large numbers of cattle like we have and are running a tight rotational grazing system, we need to know the mobs stay where we put them. Gallagher’s electric fencing solutions are helping us do that.”

Mark and Jacqui Schmidt were one of last years’ recipients of the Gallagher Landcare Electric Fencing Grant. Their farm in Yackandandah, VIC, needed dam fencing to create a buffer zone for water filtration that allows their livestock to consume clean water, convert feed, and improve their performance overall.

In March 2023, they hosted an information day on fencing farm dams, in conjunction with their local Landcare group, ANU Sustainable Farms, and Gallagher Australia.

The information day was documented by Tim Thompson, who interviewed Mark and Jacqui, and key speakers at the event.

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Mark and Jacqui have used a combination of Gallagher fencing products to fence the waterways on their property. They had used electric fencing before, so were familiar with the benefits.

In an area with lots of trees and where their cattle were grazing, they used Insulated Line Posts (ISPs) and braid around their dam. As a semi-permanent solution, this allows them to easily fix the fence if a branch falls on it, or if one of their animals decides to challenge the fence.

They were able to install the fencing themselves, and with the ISP’s holding fast in the ground, the fence hasn’t moved despite heavy rainfall in the area. Mark and Jacqui were able to build this fence around existing fencing, maintaining their existing paddock sizes without changing any of their infrastructure.

Fencing dams is a cost-effective and easy way to increase livestock productivity and biodiversity on-farm.

Gallagher Business Development Manager for Fence, Graeme Mulligan, spoke at the event to the merits of electric fencing. He is particularly knowledgeable of the benefits of fencing farm dams; his fathers’ farm saw an immediate weight gain increase in his sheep by fencing their dam and improving the quality of their drinking water.

The benefits of increasing the quality of water on-farm are huge.

Often there is a resistance to fence around dams, as it reduces the available grazing area for livestock, however, up to 17% of your land mass can be fenced for the purposes of a dam filtering zone without losing any on-farm productivity. Healthy water = healthy livestock.

ANU Sustainable Farms is an organisation branching from the ANU that for over 20 years has been focused on biodiversity research. Their research collaborates with farmers face-to-face, resulting in powerful and applicable findings.

Recently, they’ve been doing a lot of work around farm dams, how water quality impacts biodiversity and foliage recovery, and how best to manage farm dams to increase livestock productivity.

Thanks to the Yackandandah Landcare Group who organised the event, bringing together a team of organisations doing great work in the farm dam fencing space, researching the benefits of water conservation, and sharing the results.

It’s exciting to see the real-life benefits of the Gallagher Landcare Electric Fencing Grant. Applications for this year’s grants have now closed but keep an eye out for further information on next year’s grants on our website.

You can watch the full video below:

A fully digitised electric fencing system is saving Canterbury dairy farmers Ben and Allie King time and money, managing their herd and access to their farm all from their mobile phones. 

The couple are 50/50 sharemilking 650 cows on 180 hectares in Rotherham. They installed Gallagher’s M6000i iSeries Energizer, which they use along with Gallagher’s iSeries Fence Monitors. This splits the farm into two fencing zones. The couple and their team use the Gallagher Ag Devices App on their mobile phones to control the entire system. They also all have Gallagher iSeries Energizer Remote and Fault Finder, which makes finding faults quick and easy. 

Since arriving at the farm in June last year, Allie explains that the farm owners have made a considerable investment in the farm’s infrastructure, including fencing. 

“There has been a lot of work going on which has meant fences needed to be moved and wires cut so diggers could do prep work for installing irrigation. Our electric fence system has constantly needed to be turned on and off.” 

“The Gallagher M6000i iSeries Energizer, which pairs with Gallagher’s Ag Devices App on our mobile phones, has been an incredible time saver. 

“If we have a fault that’s 2km from the unit, we can turn it on and off from our phones right on the spot. Or if we need to turn the fence off to let a digger through or shift a fence, we don’t have to travel all the way back to the unit.” 

The couple has split the farm into two zones using the iSeries Fence Monitor. This helps them isolate the farm into two areas and better identify where the faults are. 

“It makes it really easy to see if the fault is on one side of the farm and saves time in finding it.” 

 Ben and Allie employ two full time farm staff and employ casual staff during busy periods like calving. They all have fault finders, which they carry in their pockets. 

“The fault finders are another essential piece of kit. I’m not sure how you’d find faults without it. You’d just be running blind. You just put it on the fence, it tells you the kilovolts and amps running through the fence and then points you in the direction where amps are high,” says Allie.  

“Follow the fence in the direction it points, and you’ll find what’s causing the fault. It’s that simple.” 

With all staff having access to the Gallagher Ag Devices App, each member of the team can see what’s happening with the fencing system at any time by looking at their phones.  

The system also has an amp setting and a voltage setting. If the amps go higher than the setting or the voltage goes lower, it will trigger an alarm and send an alert to their phones. It means Ben, Allie and their team always know exactly what’s happening with their fences and can fix any issues immediately. 

“It’s so much more than a normal fence power unit. It has a digital screen, and you can connect it to your phone using Wi-Fi or with a cellular hot spot to give you total peace of mind,” says Allie. 

The Gallagher M6000i iSeries Energizer unit allows Ben and Allie to see how much power is coming out of the unit and know immediately if there is an issue with their fencing that could risk stock getting out.  

“It’s super handy for things like when you have cows on crops, and you need to know quickly if they break out day or night.” 

Allie says adding the iSeries Fence Monitor and Gateways to the system has also been a game changer. 

“From our phones we can see if there is a problem with the system and we can see what zone it’s in, saving the hassle and time of searching entire fence lines looking for the issue,” says Allie. 

She says they don’t have Wi-Fi available on the farm, so they use a data card to control the system. 

“It’s so simple, you just put the data card in and away you go.” 

“It’s very cool to have something so digitised and automated. When farmers’ days are already busy enough, it gives us with such valuable peace of mind and one less thing to worry about.”

Learn more about the iSeries system here.

Gallagher, in partnership with Landcare Australia, is excited to announce the recipients of the Gallagher Landcare Electric Fencing Grants for 2023. 

Our partnership with Landcare Australia has been invaluable to supporting landowners to care for the land through improved environmental conservation activities. Gallagher made a pledge with Landcare Australia to have 150 fencing grant projects completed by 2026, which we are on track to achieve.

The Gallagher Landcare Electric Fencing Grant has continued to grow year after year. 2023 marks the fourth year of our partnership with Landcare, inspired by a commitment to supporting local communities and the environment.

We're excited to announce that this year we have awarded 22 grants, to the total value of $176,000 (ex. GST). With an overwhelming number of applications this year, we had a very competitive field. Those receiving grants submitted high-quality applications outlining their ongoing intention for conservation and protection.

The projects were chosen with a focus on conservation exclusion and inclusion permanent fencing, riparian protection, and farm dam restoration. We believe the recipients have a genuine passion and commitment to long-term landcare and conservation activities. 

Introducing the 2023 recipients of the Gallagher Landcare Electric Fencing Grant:

Recipients receive funding for individual electric fencing project grants valued at up to $8,000 (ex. GST) for fencing materials to support projects, with costs determined in consultation with the local Gallagher Territory Manager.

Read more about the Gallagher Landcare Grant here.

For South Canterbury dairy graziers Nigel and Gina Gardner spending hours moving break fences every day is a thing of the past thanks to Gallagher’s virtual fencing solution, eShepherd™.

The couple operates an intensive grazing operation across 350 hectares, running up to 800 dairy heifers, raising 150 jersey bulls for breeding and maintaining a small herd of 90 beef steers.

Efficient pasture management is at the heart of their operation. They need to effectively manage pasture residuals to keep their grass growing year-round and optimise their grazing to get the best animal growth rates possible for their clients.

“We have more fences than the average grazier because we run our dairy grazers in smaller mobs so we can focus on getting great growth rates for our clients,” says Gina.

“I used to be a dairy farmer, so I know where heifer weights need to be and I don't want to be sending anything back that I'm not happy with,” says Nigel.

However, their approach saw Nigel moving up to 20 break fences a day, so they started searching for a better way. They discovered eShepherd, which they started using on 150 grazing heifers in October 2023.

eShepherd trains cattle to remain within a virtual fencing barrier, which Nigel has set up on his laptop ready to activates from an app on his phone. It allows him to move and contain the livestock anywhere on the farm. The system also provides 24/7 insights and data on animal health and performance.

“It was amazing to see how easily and quickly the cows adapted. The biggest job was actually unpacking all the neckbands, activating each one and getting them turned on. As far as putting them on the animals and getting the virtual fencing working, within half a day, the heifers knew what was going on,” says Nigel.

Pasture is the backbone of the Gardner’s business. While they have had some good seasons recently, Nigel says the seasons are changing and becoming drier, which will present challenges for them.

“How we manage our pasture is key,” says Nigel. “I can't have mobs free-ranging and burning up pasture because then I end up needing a lot more supplement, which can be costly. Home-grown pasture is the most efficient feed, so we need to be smart about how we use it.”

The couple says Gallagher has been with them every step of the way on their eShepherd journey with after-sales advice and support. Nigel and Gina believe eShepherd has transformed part of their operation and given them better work-life balance.

“I'm not out there winding up electric fences or moving electric fences every day,” says Nigel. “In the eShepherd app, I remove, add and create breaks several days in advance and activate them daily or as necessary at the touch of a button. It’s that easy.”

Nigel and Gina wanted to put the system to the test, so Nigel programmed the breaks before they left for a long weekend. Rather than ask his farm manager to shift the mobs he activated the fence movements himself from their holiday location.

“It worked perfectly. I checked with my farm manager and the mobs had moved onto the new breaks no issues at all,” says Nigel.

He says eShepherd has made grass management so much easier.

“Using eShepherd means I can move mobs at any time of the day or night depending on the feed that’s available,” says Nigel.

“While I’m having breakfast, I use my phone to move the two mobs that have eShepherd neckbands. When I'm out moving those that are behind a traditional electric fence, I quickly check on my eShepherd mobs to make sure they have moved themselves and they're happy. Over time as we get used to using the new technology, I won’t feel the need to do that anymore.”

Gina says eShepherd is saving them time and freeing up brain space to be able to oversee their business in a different way.

“We have been away a couple of times since introducing eShepherd and Nigel's been able to see what's happening on farm, even though he's not here. It gives us real peace of mind,” says Gina.

The Gardners can see the potential to share data from eShepherd with heifer owners to reassure them about their animals’ progress while they are off farm for grazing.

After seeing the benefits of eShepherd over the last five months, Nigel and Gina now plan to expand the use of the virtual fencing solution across their operation, as investment allows.

“We’ve had so much positive feedback from our business partners, clients, and the farming community about the results we’re getting with eShepherd,” says Gina. “There is so much potential for technology to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of our farm we would be silly not to consider rolling it out further.”