Electric fencing offers two major advantages over other types of fencing. One is cost. The cost to install a four-strand, barbed-wire fence is about $5,000 per mile. The cost to install a typical, single-wire, electric fence is about $1,600 per mile. If necessary, additional wires can be added to an electric-fence for about 10 cents per foot. There could be additional costs to install electric fencing in certain cases. For instance, Missouri law requires that property line fences be at least four feet tall and have posts at least every 12 feet.
The other big advantage of electric fencing is its ease of construction, which improves forage management opportunities. Small pastures can greatly enhance harvest efficiency and increase the amount of forage produced from a grazing system because of the amount of rest that is introduced into the system.
Electric Fencing for Serious Graziers
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Columbia MO
September 2005
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