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In the early morning hours of March 3, 2020, a succession of tornadoes ripped through middle Tennessee. The longest of the five stayed on the ground for 63 minutes, reaching 165 mph over 60.13 miles. At the midpoint of that devastating path was Mt. Juliet Christian Academy (MJCA) and its 5-year-old agriculture department, led by teacher and FFA advisor Brittany Barnett. The school lost the entire second story, and the rooms on the first floor were flooded. Barnett’s personally provided electrical tools were corroded. Her entire curriculum and students’ SAE records were soaked. The courtyard used for landscape design was...

  Ben Miller, owner of Buck Hill Fencer, has been helping Amish farmers utilize solar power to power fence chargers for 20 years. In recent years his Pasture Combo Shock Box has caught the attention of all farmers interested in using solar fencing in a safe and convenient way. “It is very popular because a lot of people want to go solar. They have no power to go to their property,” says Caren Remsberg, who sells the box through Valley Farm Supply, the fencing, weighing and watering supply business she and her husband, JC, own. With the coronavirus there’s been...

Impedance is a measure of how much resistance is present in an electric fencing system. High impedance energizers work best when resistance is higher from dry grass touching the electric wires, when the soil is very dry, or when the fencing system could benefit from additional ground rods. Low impedance energizers work best when resistance is low, such as during times of the year when the soil is moist, the grass is green, and there are plenty of ground rods installed. Some energizers are designed to withstand both conditions and are referred to as wide impedance energizers. They tend to...

Wire fencing is designed to either: create a physical barrier that is difficult for the animal to escape through, or conduct electrical currents so that the shock will deter animals from escaping. Smooth Wire Smooth wire fence Smooth wire delivers a shock that will deter an animal from crawling through a fence. These wires vary in their diameter and strength. Most smooth wire fences are made using a heavier 12½ gauge wire, which can withstand 1,000 to 1,600 psi before breaking, depending on manufacturing specifications. Smaller diameter wires, such as 14 and 16 gauge, are more likely to break on...

One of the challenges of electric fencing is protecting the energizer from lightning strikes. Lightning can strike one of the wires and the electricity will travel through the fencing system to the energizer. Here are a few methods to help prevent burning down a building and prevent damage to the energizer. Install the energizer on a post outside of, but near the building with the power supply. Cover the energizer to protect from the weather. Use a good quality surge protector. Many times, the power surge that damages the energizer comes from the electrical supply rather than through the fence...