DlMjmeaster Fanning Saturday, November 15; 1986
UNIVERSITY PARK - A
revolutionary new electric fence
from New Zealand may change the
look of American farms in the
future. Penn State researchers are
testing the “spider fence”-the
creation of Harry Wier, cattle
rancher and inventor from New
Zealand.
“When I started raising beef
bulls, there wasn’t anything on the
market that was up to my ex
pectations of what a fence should
do,” says Wier. “Bulls are
aggressive animals, pretty
punishing of any fence system.”
Wier needed a fence that was
tough enough to take physical
abuse from livestock and provided
easy access to the animals. It also
had to be lasting and economical
as well as look good. So he came up
with the spider fence, which he is
now marketing in the United
States.
New Zealand cattleman Harry Weir demonstrates the use
of “G" spring to open gate.
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1. Manual lift for unloading auger 9. Control lever for unloading
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2. Spring-loaded lift assist is 10. Shutoff control for auger feeder
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6 Concentrate hopper is at left
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8 Feed door in tank opens
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Spider Inspires
“The spider’s web is one of
nature’s masterpieces of
engineering-sparing in its use of
energy and materials for the
function it performs. The secret of
the web is its resiliency,” says
Wier. “Spider electric fences
mimic nature’s elegance and
economy by using the same
principles of construction.”
Spider fences are made of light,
fine wire, about 1.6 millimeters in
diameter. This wire is cheaper and
easier to work than heavier wires,
and it allows low wire tension.
Lighter tension and a spring
operated tightening method im
prove wire and less
strain is placed on the other
structures in the fence.
Flexibility is another asset of the
spider fence. Says Wier, “To
withstand the punishment of, say,
a large cow knocking a post it must
be one of two extremes-either
side
11 Auger feeder positioner lets you
snug hopper up tight to bin
without moving tractor Up to
5" backward movement is
provided
12. Hydraulic drive on auger feed
er (optional)
13 Lift & swing of unloading auger
with tractor hydraulics (optional)
14 Extensions for unloading auger
are optional Shown is 3' ex
tension
New Livestock Fence Design
strong enough to stand up to the
cow without breaking, or flexible
enough to bend out of the cow’s
way. The beauty of the spider
fence is that, since the wires are
light and lightly strained, they
don’t need a rigid post to support
them. Thus, it’s possible to use
posts that are quite thin, flexible
and unbreakable.”
Because of the flexible con
struction, the spider fence can be
driven over with a specially
adapted jeep or even with a
motorbike if the driver wears
rubber boots. A jeep with bars in
the front to press the fence down
and rails underneath to keep it
from tangling in the undercarriage
provides easy accessibility.
“Animals, once they’re con
ditioned to electric fencing, can be
contained very satisfactorily,”
says Wier. “You get superb con
trol. If you tram correctly, con
ditioning is very strong, like a
mental brick wall.”
The spider fence could mean
significant cost savings for U.S.
farmers-it costs only 20 percent of
the price of conventional fences,
Wier estimates. “I think a comes
to about 15 cents a foot, and that
includes materials and labor costs.
“It’s also quick and easy to
erect,” he continues. “Many
Pennsylvania farmers probably
would like to put up their own
fences, and the spider fence would
make the job easier. In Australia
recently, one fencer and his wife
set a world record by erecting
about two miles of spider fence in
six hours and 47 minutes.”
Fences like the spider are the
most rapidly growing type of fence
on the New Zealand market right
now, Wier says. “Our farmers, like
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Weir controls grazing of about 1,000 bulls using Spider
Fence
your own, are experiencing an
economic crunch right now. Yet
over the four-year period since
we’ve begun marketing the spider
fence, sales have doubled an
nually.”
Researchers in Penn State’s
College of Agriculture are testing
the spider fence at the College’s
agricultural research center in
Rock Springs, Pa. They want to
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(317) 398-4636 or (317) 398-7973
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determine what problems might be
encountered with the fence as well
as how it will hold up under Penn
sylvania’s weather conditions. “In
this day md age, we can’t ignore a
development like the spider
fence,” says research agronomist
Gerald Jung. “This type of fence
could certainly help farmers be
cost-competitive. ’ ’
m
New Holland, PA 17557