Alvin Stewarts’ pastures straddle the Marsh River. Looking to keep his cattle out of the river Alvin installed 4000 ft of electric fence on either side of the Marsh River. The fenced-off area included 50 to 200 feet away from the river excluding cattle from the natural flood plain of the Marsh River. Alvin was happy to exclude cattle from these areas along the river to help the restoration of the natural vegetation in the flood plain. The exclusion fence meant that Alvin did not have to worry about cattle going out into the river for their drinking water. The fenced-off areas around the river will be flashed grazed once a year to prevent overgrowth and stimulate new growth.
Stewart Waterway Fencing
Marsh River
Benefits
EnvironmentalÂ
- Livestock have no access to the riparian area allowing for natural revegetation and bank stabilization
- Habitat will be naturally reestablished for wildlife
- The restored riparian area will act as a buffer, filtering nutrients that may runoff from the surrounding pasture
Producer
- Improves herd health and productivity
- Reduce the spread of pathogens
- Safeguarding reliable water source for cattle
Characteristics
- roughly 100 cattle excluded from Marsh River
- 2 strand electric wire fence along the entire length of River
- Cattle will be allowed to flash graze along River during dry season to prevent overgrowth
