Waiau-based fencer Amanda Beckham found her way onto the fenceline after finding herself needing work and chatting to a local at the pub. And three years on it’s a career change she hasn’t looked back.
Having left a farm assistant job that wasn’t working out, she managed to get work contract driving, but it was only seasonal.
“So, when hours started running out, a local guy at a social event said he knew a fencer looking for some part time help for a couple of months,” she said.
She rang the fencer – Amuri Basin contractor Hamish Henderson – who told her to come see him on his lunch break.
“He put me straight to work, then at the end of the day told me to ‘be here 7am tomorrow’, and I’ve worked for him full time since then.”
That was nearly three years ago now.
She enjoys fencing because it is challenging mentally and physically. “I also enjoy being outside all day – although not so much in the rain!”
“It’s also very satisfying to see the complete fence that you built.”
She also loves working with and learning more about the machinery.
The biggest challenge was probably the weather. “(It’s hard) when it’s hot a lot and there is no shade.”
The physical work of lifting gear and posts was hard, “but you get stronger the more you do it”. There were gender stereotypes that she came up against.
“It can be frustrating when males think I’m just a girl and too small, and feel the need to try and take over.”
“But now most of the farms we work on I know the managers and they know I’m fully capable.”
One thing she felt would be helpful to draw more women into the industry is if stalls at shows and trade days included more females on their site.
“There’s been couple times at shows guys on stalls don’t talk back to me, just my boss and the other worker.”
In her first year Amanda completed a Certificate in Fencing Level 3 course, attended FCANZ best practice days, and competed in the Kirwee Field Day fencing competitions – becoming the first female in the South Island to do so.
“I didn’t realize this when I signed up. We didn’t place anywhere but it was fun and I learned so much. All the guys were very encouraging.” Amanda is excited for the future in the industry, and where it could take her.
“I’d like to travel a bit so maybe a fencer general job in a new part of the country and hopefully one day my own business. My boss jokes all the time about when am I going to buy him out.”
Her boss, Hamish, is quick to sing her praises as a worker. “She has patience, hungry for the knowledge on how to fence. She has good communication skills with myself and clients to get jobs done.
“The day she met me for an interview, I gave her some staples to help me with a job. As I went down the line, she had turned all those staples to face one way which made grabbing them from her easy. I knew just from that simple task that she was going to be worth putting time into.
“As I worked, we talked and the more we talked the more she worked. She spent the whole day helping me put up a fence line while at an interview.”
Amanda was now taking on more responsibility as his 2IC. “So, if for any reason I’m not available, she is organising jobs. She also keeps up with paperwork, ordering materials, machinery maintenance and organising staff.”
He feels there’s room for more women in the industry and encouraged other contractors to “give everybody a go”.
Written by Rosa Watson
Published in the Women in the Industry Feature in WIRED Issue 68 | March 2023 by Fencing Contractors NZ
During her 40+ years on the fenceline, Horowhenua-based fencing contractor Maria Clement has seen a lot of changes.
Fencing is a career that Maria is still passionate about, more than four decades since she entered it, and she has no plans to retire any time soon.
From the shed to the fenceline
One of four girls, Maria was never a child for being indoors and could often be found in the shed with her father’s tools. “Dad was an engineer, mechanic, carpenter – a jack of all trades. I adored him as he always encouraged me to learn and grow in an untraditional girlish way, either working with him or embarking on my own projects and learning experiences.”
On more than one occasion Maria could be found hiding in her room after a mishap. Incidents like sneaking one of her dads very sharp chisels “which was only to be used under his watchful eye” and badly cutting her hand, or when green roof paint covered the brand-new cream skirt her mum had just proudly made.
Maria’s initial entry to the fencing industry was the 5 years she spent working for Speedrite Electric Fencing, who were based in Levin at the time, making components for electric fence units. When she married her (now former) husband Colin they embarked on their fencing career together as a team, which allowed Maria to transition onto the fenceline. “I knew that I always wanted to work outdoors with my hands. I’d finally found my happy place as a fencer”.
Family and fencing
Beginning a family in the early 80’s didn’t slow Maria down. In 1983, with 7-month-old Sarah on her hip, Maria was one of the few women competing in both the Golden Pliers and the Gallagher team’s electric fencing competition (with Colin). Luckily babysitting was eagerly offered by fellow competitors’ wives while she competed. As the family grew, babysitters for 3 toddlers wasn’t so easy, so competing took a back burner.
Back home their trusty Land Rover also doubled as a fenceline creche, set up with a playpen and a bed, and it was always parked within close reach. “When they were babies, I’d work for 2-3 hours then stop for half an hour or so when they needed feeding, changing and attention. As each outgrew the back of the Landy it was off to Nana’s, Grandad’s, and day-care.”
Baby number four added an extra dimension as he despised day-care which meant he hung out on the fenceline for much longer than his older siblings. Most of his time was spent playing in the post hole dirt, returning home with an ever dwindling supply of cars and trucks.
“On one forestry job I was head down digging and Leon was playing in the dirt when we were suddenly surrounded by army soldiers – in full camo. They managed to sneak right up to us! We laughed and chatted and one gave Leon a rat pack chocolate bar, the highlight of his day. All four of our children spent a lot of their childhood with us on the fence line. Times were very different then.”
Pathway to success
After about 6 years of fencing, Maria soon started picking up her own fencing clients, finding that many female divorcées or widows living on smaller farms or lifestyle blocks felt very comfortable with another female being on the property, offering advice, suggestions and then doing the work. “Many times, I’d end up doing other jobs for them like fixing leaky taps, repairing clotheslines etc”.
As a sole contractor, Maria enjoyed the smaller jobs that the bigger gangs passed up, many of which involved repairs and maintenance of existing fences. She took pride in making a tired baggy fence, stockproof and tidy again, which often meant new end assemblies, wires, posts and battens. She also picked up contracts with Electra reinstating fences behind the vegetation team, and FOMS repairing fences, gateways and strainers damaged by logging trucks. The majority of this work was done the hard way – hand digging and crowbarring because of tree roots and rocks. When longer fencelines or better ground conditions permitted, Maria would make use of her post hole borer and use a post rammer.
It was the willingness to take on these extra projects that saw Maria diversify into residential landscaping construction such as retaining walls, decks and wooden fences, alongside her agricultural fencing. “Having high standards for and pride in my work is so important to me. I’ve never had to advertise for work – it’s always been through word of mouth.”
The right tools for the job
Being a woman in a physical industry means you can’t always rely on brute strength – working smart is just as important. “Sometimes a helping hand would be great, but what I may lack in strength, 99% of the time, leverage and physics gets the job done.”
Maria considers having specialist digging tools also important, and the early days competing at Mystery Creek allowed her to form connections with prominent and well-regarded fencer Frank Prince. Frank was heavily involved in the development of the Master Fencer course in the mid 80’s, and also made a number of precision fencing tools for Maria. Her favourite spade “Huck” was recently retired and replaced by another Frank Prince spade, preciously stored away stored in the shed for “a rainy day”.
No plans to retire yet
“I love my life as a fencer, but I would have loved becoming a qualified builder, which was sadly unheard of in my time. However, I’m fortunate two sons are qualified builders, and my third son does automated gateways, so I’m often called on for the boxing and concrete work. My eldest daughter and I often fence together on her block of land. Fencing has been a wonderful way of life as a family, it certainly has given them great values and great work ethics.”
Recently Maria has secured additional subcontracting work with another fencing contractor. While she loves the work, she’s happy for someone else to run the business side of the projects. No quoting, no rounding up materials, no bookwork. “Subcontracting and working with others gives me the chance to pass on skills. I hope that the next generation of fencers enjoy this job as much as I have – and still do. I’m not ready to retire yet”.
Written by Jaime Bigwood
Published in the Women in the Industry Feature in WIRED Issue 68 / March 2023 by Fencing Contractors NZ
Most of our members work directly on the fence line and there are many whose partners pursue an independent career, while others work alongside in their self-employed businesses. The FCANZ Board currently has three women that work in fencing companies, so we thought we would enlighten members on their backgrounds and roles, and what skills they bring to the Board. Meet the leading ladies of FCANZ.
Debbie White
I never intended to get involved in Tony’s fencing business, with my first foray into self-employment being an export cut flower business, growing eight acres with 12 seasonal staff, whilst Tony was developing his fencing business and helping in both. With a university education and previous roles in fashion buying, marketing and merchandising, fencing was a world away. But realizing the potential and scope that the fencing business offered, I developed a growing realization that it was best to pay heed.
Over the years I have become involved with marketing, compliance, human resources (including hiring) health and safety, materials sourcing, administration (yuck, I hate filing, find it impossible!), monitoring finances and “approving” asset purchases a.k.a – reining Tony in. I thrive on strategic thinking and concepts, which works well with Tony’s ability for efficiency, design, and systems.
In a need to keep things interesting and because I suffer from a desire to overcommit, I’ve taken an interest in the wider industry, enjoying the genuineness of the majority of people I have met. I joined the FCANZ Board some years ago, helping to organize the first conference in Rotorua and going on to be a Board member for a further three years.
Interested in event organizing I went on to create “All About Fencing” and organized fencing events in both the North and South Islands within larger Field Days. With a desire to unite the industry and showcase industry best practice with top fencers skilled in various aspects, the formula worked well with exhibitors broken into different installation types and the demonstrators being carefully selected based on their outstanding workmanship and ability to relate.
When in his mid-40s, Tony took up competitive fencing, having watched it at the Fieldays for many years and finally deciding to give it a go. Finding it highly useful as a training resource and meeting a great group of fencers, I was happy to help with the formation of New Zealand Fencing Competitions (NZFC) and work within the newly formed committee to negotiate terms with the Fieldays and unite the various regional competitions that had been and still are, run by long standing individuals. Currently I am working alongside Nick Liefting who’s been successful in organizing a UK team to compete in the 2023 Fieldays Silver Spades. Our aim within NZFC is to create a New Zealand based global fencing competition. Tony and I currently organise the South Island Fencing competition, alongside Leanne Stanger and Nick Liefting.
I rejoined the FCANZ Board several years ago to focus on the fiscal management and help with strategic planning, while working on some new concepts for FCANZ like the annual survey and Webinar series. As a Board member I am a time poor volunteer, but I enjoy the challenge of helping to define the direction that the industry needs to move towards. My method is cautious and looking at things from all angles, not wasting resources but trying to keep an open mind to the need for change and growth.
Donna Upton
If I think back to the days when I was wondering what a career looked like for me, I was training to join the Police – I got as far as scope and went out on a few nightshifts and had to deal with some interesting characters. As much as I knew I’d love that as a job, I didn’t see that as a future family fit career for me. I worked for a few years as a Legal Secretary and then went into banking, working in the rural banking industry (namely for Rabobank) from 2005 right through till 2020, when I resigned to steer our business and, as it turns out, help the industry and Association.
In 2011 I met my husband Phil, who was then a one-man band fencer under his business name CPC Contracting, in Northland. Through our 12-year partnership, we have grown the business, changed entities to CPC Fencing Limited, increased the crew sizes, sometimes up to 6 crews and running 20 staff. Our staff numbers have reduced thankfully over the last two years to a manageable 9 (including Phil).
My part in the business varies, I manage with a H&S manager the Health and Safety, I complete all aspects of the paperwork. I am Phil’s sounding board and sometimes handbrake. We have three children at home also who are 6, 8 and 15. So with Phil always out sorting the crews it’s my job to oversee the ship. Some days I am out on a fenceline ferrying vehicles and machinery with Phil, other days I am sitting in the office from daylight to dusk.
Phil joined the FCANZ Board in 2019, the AGM before the COVID pandemic began. Through that 2020 lockdown year, I quit my job at Rabobank and focused on our business, the kids and the changing times we found ourselves in. I enjoyed the change away from banking and ended up helping quite a lot behind the scenes with Association related things. I then joined the Board at the 2020 Wellington AGM and have been helping a lot more behind the scenes on the training and industry pathway side of things.
At the 2021 FCANZ conference, I had a conversation with Jim Smith from NorthTec about how we could push the fencing qualifications along and streamline some of the training and the full pathway through for the industry. At that time NorthTec was struggling to find Tutors and Coordinators to manage the Level 3 courses. There was a lot of interest around the country to work into the course framework. Jim asked if I would contract to NorthTec as the National Coordinator and industry liaison between the Tertiary system and the Association.
The last 12 months or so (and prior with COVID frameworks and mandates etc to navigate) have been a massive learning curve, especially with the complete restructure and move toward Te Pukenga, the merging of New Zealand’s sixteen Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics under one umbrella organisation. NorthTec managed to run three courses in 2022, and each time we run them we learn better, easier ways to do things. We have some great tutors who go out of their way to help new and upcoming fencers.
I enjoy giving back to an industry that has been good to us. I enjoy the people, friends and connections we have made and are making along the way. It will be interesting to see where the new Fencing pathway takes the industry in the coming years.
Janine Swansson
Janine and David Swansson
Getting ahead and being the best that you can be in business has always been the motto for Janine Swansson, 46, who has recently joined the FCANZ Board.
Janine, with her husband David, started their own contract fencing business Bang It Fencing in the Tararua District just 3 years ago after selling their dairy farm, achieving a better work-life balance.
Janine and David had a successful career in dairy farming and from the very start of their careers became heavily involved in the dairy industry body now known as DairyNZ. The Swanssons went on to win the Hawke’s Bay Wairarapa Sharemilker of the Year and Janine held many voluntary positions in the dairy industry. Janine sites the biggest benefit to being involved with your industry is the self-development, learning and satisfying networking connections made. Janine still retains a close connection to the dairy industry through her Senior Extension Partner role with DairyNZ.
Janine and David continue to farm beef and dairy grazers on 220ha, however the diversification into the fencing contracting business – specialising in rural and lifestyle – has been exciting for them all.
The moment the Swanssons started a fencing business, David was attracted to the FCANZ website and from there they have used all the information to help build their business. Janine admits after knowing the dairy farming practically, physically and in a business sense, fencing for her is like a new language – whilst for David it was second nature having done a short stint working with a contract fencer before full time dairying. Those fencing skills have been put to good use in all David’s years of farming and are now a true passion as he utilizes his creative and development skills fencing.
A highlight for Janine and David was in August 2021 (their first spring without any cows to milk) jet setting off to Paihia for the annual fencing conference. It was a surreal moment flying home and not worrying about calving cows. Janine’s workmates joke about her romantic getaway and winning a chainsaw. They thoroughly enjoy mixing with all the experience at these events as well as best practice days. The partners and sponsors of the events are also so beneficial to meet and play a key part in their successful business through valuable relationships.
Janine & David’s Bang It Fencing business is a family affair with their son Jordan working for them full time. They also have another young school leaver working with them. This year David and staff have completed the Level 3 Certificate in Fencing. Whilst it was not a requirement for David to complete Level 3 before doing Level 4 this year, Janine and David thought it was valuable to complete the course to best support his young staff going through the course. They think it’s invaluable for young staff to have the Level 3 Certificate to support them in the future if they decided to move on to a new part of the country looking for employment.
David and Janine complement each other in business with him out in the field and with her in the office. While Janine admits she won’t be swinging a hammer or ramming posts anytime soon, the fence line is not just a male affair with their daughter-in-law Emma and daughter Anna often seen out on the fence line.
Janine and David have enjoyed attending FCANZ events and Janine soon identified a place she could really support David in his passion for fencing and networking with other like-minded fencers was in the leadership of the Association. Janine is now taking the opportunity to learn even more fencing lingo after joining the FCANZ Board at the 2022 AGM.
Janine brings her current and previous experience from banking and consultant roles to the Board table to help a very active FCANZ Board continue to develop, grow, and achieve the goals of the Association for the betterment of fencers, partners, and the industry. Janine aspires to the work of the other Board members and especially the immense work being done by fellow female Board members Donna Upton and Debbie White.
Janine believes the Board has a great mix of gender and is spread across the country to serve the needs of its members. Sometimes it has been questioned, “what place does a woman have on the Board?” The simple answer is that we can all have a place at the Board table just as much as we have an opportunity and place in our own businesses.
While we may wish it wasn’t necessarily true, we live in a regulatory business space and the greatest opportunities will come to those that meet and embrace those standards. It makes sense to have FCANZ, to allow fencers to collaborate and work together to ensure quality and standards for fencers to be recognized as a professionally valued part of the Agriculture Service sector.
Janine is looking forward to taking part in organising the events FCANZ offers. Joining the FCANZ family for the Swanssons was a simple no brainer and instrumental in the success of their business.
Written by Debbie White, Donna Upton and Janine Swansson.
Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand (FCANZ), the industry body for fencing contractors, has partnered with rural mental health and wellbeing advocate Craig “Wiggy” Wiggins. Wiggy has stepped up as a patron for the Association in a move that is expected to bring greater support to those living and working in rural communities.
Phil Cornelius, FCANZ President, says that the partnership with Wiggy is important for the industry and the rural sector. “As an Association we represent the fencing industry as a whole, but our roots are very rural, and the majority of our members are still strongly connected with the rural sector. Rural mental health has always been a challenge, but even more so now in light of the unprecedented destruction caused by the extreme weather events of the first two months of 2023.”
Whatever With Wiggy founder Craig Wiggins is well known for his rural mental health initiatives including “Lean on a gate, talk to a mate” and his Whatever With Wiggy Facebook group. Established in response to the 2020 COVID lockdown, the Whatever With Wiggy Charitable Trust seeks to maintain and build connections within the rural community.
Initially Whatever With Wiggy consisted of a Zoom meeting every Thursday night, with up to 80 plus attendees, discussing everything from covid to politics, to mental health and all issues affecting rural communities. Now, as part of the ongoing advocacy work for mental health and wellness in rural communities Wiggy’s work also includes nationwide Rural Health and Wellbeing checks with the Carr Family Foundation, checking farmers’ overall health and wellbeing at rural events, and Agriconnect, providing mental health seminars for the rural service industry and rural professionals.
“Being invited to be a Patron for FCANZ is an exciting time. It allows us another way to connect with another important part of the rural community – and means that we can continue supporting those who need it. We’re already hearing about the stresses that rural fencing contractors are under trying to support their existing clients, while servicing all of the insurance assessments coming through – not to mention dealing with the impact that the Cyclone has had on their own personal and business lives. There are challenging times ahead.”
FCANZ has always had a connection with Wiggy, so this partnership is not unexpected. In 2022 Association members raised $15,000 for the Whatever With Wiggy charitable trust in an impromptu charity auction at their annual conference. “This level of un-prompted support shows just how important our members and industry partners feel Wiggy’s work is. We’re excited to have him on board as our Patron and we look forward to working with him further”
FCANZ will be holding a charity auction at their conference this year in New Plymouth and hope to meet or beat the $15,000 raised last year.
Nick and Amy Peacock switched from solid satisfying rural careers to building a new fencing contracting business in Waipukurau from scratch.
The change required “a big mental step”. Nick says it has been worth it.
“We are creating something for ourselves, and we are in charge of our own destiny.”
Nick sports several years of corporate and hands-on experience working in farm and hill country station manager roles across the Hawke’s Bay; Amy has a background in rural training and sales. Ultimately the couple were working towards a dream goal of farm ownership but avenues such as leasing and equity partnership seemed difficult to achieve given the scale they wanted to work at.
“We were creeping up towards our 40s. For a long time, we were seeing the kinds of farms that we managed and good first-farms being put to other land uses. We were seeing what was happening with older managers who had worked their whole lives growing someone else’s business.”
We didn’t want to end up at retirement age and it be a case of should’a, could’a, would’a. We started looking outside the box to work to our strengths.
Nick had fenced with contractors in Australia, the UK and the Hawke’s Bay and throughout his farming career and both were no stranger to running businesses for other people. After throwing the idea of fencing contracting around for a couple of years, the couple started Ridgeline Fencing in September 2019 specialising in rural, lifestyle and horticultural fencing.
Nick says he misses the challenge of running larger scale breeding businesses, his dogs and skill involved in being a good stockman, but life as a fencing contractor delivers other advantages: working for himself, creating rural career paths for others in the local community, completing a job to the highest standard that they can do, and making more quality time for family.
Starting up, the biggest challenge has been finding good staff. Ridgeline Fencing runs three fulltime staff who work alongside Nick. Amy runs the finance and administration side of the business. Then, they have a couple of young lads who come in every school holidays, and they’ve just taken on a 16-year old school leaver.
“All our current guys have come to Ridgeline Fencing via word of mouth. They have approached us saying ‘we hear you are good to work with’. That is really cool for us because we are passionate about creating a good work environment.”
The most important thing new staff can bring to the Ridgeline Fencing, over and above any fencing skills, is that they are good people and they fit well with the team. Shouldering that team fit goes both ways.
“We have been both staff and the boss at the same time,” says Nick. “Now we are business owners. We’re the employers. We need to make our team feel welcome. Whether they are young, or new to fencing, they know they can talk to us about anything.”
Nick says they’re lucky. “We are still a young business. We have a really good crew, and we are looking forward to growing our staff and growing a happy team. They are our most important asset. There’s an expectation in the industry that if you develop your staff, and you do your job right, they will fly the nest. For us, there is nothing more rewarding than seeing all of them go on and do great things with their lives.”
Taking on a large fencing project for Waka Kotahi, New Zealand’s national transport agency, has been a way to expand and challenge the team.
It’s all conventional fences sectioning off the roadside planting along the Woodville-Ashhurst Highway. This first stage is close to 20kms. Nick says the project has taken a lot of pre-planning going on before even putting a post in the ground, a lot of forward planning, logistics, making sure everything up to spec, managing staff and travel. Getting the posts in the ground was another story.
“It’s quite steep country, very rocky. For about a third of the fencing we were actually above the windmills and looking down. Sometimes you thought you didn’t need a staple to hold the wire on to the fence. The winter has been very wet. It’s been tough on the guys and the equipment. There were some pretty trying conditions for a while.”
“The biggest thing for us is making sure that the job doesn’t get monotonous for the crew. We were able to work it with the guys dipping in and out to other jobs, providing some variety, avoiding burnout, and ensuring no one gets fatigued from the same thing day in and day out.”
Amy and Nick approach fencing the same as farming, looking at ways to be innovative, to learn and grow. That’s where their motto of working smarter rather than harder comes in.
“Jobs like the Woodville-Ashhurst Highway are a really great example of just how important it is to have the right gear: our Stockade tools, post and batten staplers, our two rammers, the tracked Evo Protech rammer and our dozer set up with the Kinghitter Series 5 rammer”
“We had a Stockade pneumatic batten stapler from right at the start. Obviously, it is miles better than hand stapling. It wasn’t until one of the guys who works for me said ‘have you tried the Stockade post stapler?’ I looked at it and I thought it would be a nice tool, but it would be another expense on a young business – but by three weeks later I had bought my second one. That’s how good they are. They have saved so much time and effort. They are a brilliant invention.”
Chris Bullmore has been a fencing contractor for 25 years located around the Queanbeyan area in Southern NSW. Chris has been an integral part of the Wandiyali-Environa wildlife sanctuary, helping to erect the 10km fox and cat proof fence enclosing the 1000-acre property.
However, the fence line ran through some creek gaps, one that was 30m across and another that was 25m across. Due to the sensitive nature of the enclosure, these needed to be fenced.
After seeing the Waratah flood posts in market and having used Waratah products in many jobs before, Chris was keen to explore how he could use the flood posts in exclusion fencing applications to help protect the enclosure and prevent any rising costs they might encounter from future whether events.
Chris installed Ezypipe® strainer posts on each side of the creek, followed by a cable wire to install the multiple Waratah flood posts. Finishing off the fence with clipping on Longlife Blue® netting to enclose the waterway with the existing fence line.
This design meant that as flood waters raised, the flood posts pushed the netting up and allowed logs and other debris to pass under the netting. This helps to allow the fence to stay intact during whether events.
Chris explained that this has saved the project a massive amount of money, “Without the flood posts the netting would have been destroyed, and to replace that portion of the fence would be roughly about $2,000 per creek crossing, and with the number of events we have had over the last year, the cost adds up to about $24,000 in the last two years alone. And this doesn’t account for the time it takes to go back and mend these crossings.”
“Every Creek is different, but the Waratah flood posts really work, there is no comparable alternative to them.”
“As a contractor it is important to use products that are consistent, the Waratah products are honestly the best I’ve used.”
Tim Garrick of T Garrick Fencing (Whakatutu) represents much needed younger blood into the industry. Working in good genuine Gisborne hill country Tim tackles this type of work as a backbone to his business.
The job
This was a recent job, carried out in late September/ October this year, having booked it in to fit around larger jobs that were looming with summer approaching. It was priced on a metre rate, factoring the travelling to the back of the job and the augering required due to the varying ground conditions.
This job was located 45min north of Gisborne, a Matawai conservation area or locally known as Block 93. The Job was a boundary between farmland and Department of Conservation land bush. It was a kilometre of 2100 mm H deer fencing, the last portion of a three-kilometre job.
The fence line was on the back of the property, about a 30 minute ride out on quad bikes when conditions were good. The ridgeline is about 1000m altitude and quite exposed, on the edge of bushland with big bluffs and signs of upheaval from tectonic plates.
The tools
The fence line was put in by another bulldozer operator who the farmer uses and a Excavator, mainly wiping scrub
off and the excavator clearing the line (Tim has a Komatsu 31P with a rear mounted FENCEQUIP that he normally clears lines with).
The farmer carted in and laid out the material. Post spacings were closed up to 3 metres, as requested by the farmer to help with pressure from the deer and to allow for following the ground contour better. The fence was erected as the farm runs commercial deer and the fence would also be used to trap wild deer.
The challenge
Ground conditions varied greatly with rim rock, compromising of sandstone and fossilised rock, pumice and everything in between. Tim drilled it with a Revolution planetary Auger kit and FENCEQUIP 100 mm Auger for inline posts and 150 mm Auger for angles and strainers.
Footing and staying was adapted to suit ground conditions. Some tie backs were necessary due to needing access up and down line. Some footing was not needed in the solid rock otherwise swinging foots were used in normal soil.
While Tim and his team were up there working a weather bomb came through – it snowed throughout the day and the area got a good dump overnight, slowing things down momentarily!
Naming your business High Country Fencing indicates your intent; big country, big jobs, the type of work whose environment challenges you on even the most mundane of days.
High Country Fencing has been working at Mt Alford Station for past 4 years on various High Country jobs including re-fencing flat country. Mt Alford Station is a 2,291 hectare cattle and sheep breeding and finishing venture, operating on four distinctly different classes of land. All but 75 hectares has been purchased over the past 5 years and are either completely or currently being re-developed. More than 350 hectares of indigenous vegetation and wetlands have been fenced off permanently from livestock and over 100 hectares of exotic forestry planted.
The job
In late summer/autumn 2021 High Country Fencing undertook a boundary fence for the Department of Conservation and Mt Alford Station Conservation Fence – fencing off native bush.
The job was planned for that time of year to ensure it was dry enough to have the bulldozer working and for environmental and health and safety reasons.
The tools
The equipment used was a Bulldozer with a side mounted Fencepro post driver, creating no need to back up to install posts. The operator is always behind the dozer for safety but it’s also good for keeping away from the cliff edge/loose terrain. A 13.5 T Excavator was used for some areas with a Waratah Post Driver and Rock Drill. Access was via ATVs and explosives was used in the rock.
The challenge
The terrain was steep even by High Country Fencing’s standards and it was thought a helicopter would be required to drop gear onto the hill sides, but they managed with a sledge on the dozer – making the job cheaper for the client.
There was distance and inaccessibility to parts of the jobsite, with an hour’s drive out the back of the station to get to the job site, then having to get onto ATV to get out to the fence line, with the track not suitable for vehicles.
The ground varied greatly with areas of clay that were greasy and very sticky when wet, like giant skid pads. And the rock! Lots of rock, with rock drilling using the Excavator required and T irons used in places where posts couldn’t get to. Explosives were used for blasting rock on some areas.
The weather had its say, with early snow, and wind up to 150 kms/ph causing suspension and disruptions to work.
The big flood of June 2021 washed the tracks out to the jobsite, luckily the job had just been finished and the bulldozer was still warm from having been brought out to the front of the station.
Health & Safety
Dealing with the risks on this type of job involved:
Communication systems;
A good emergency plan with workers well briefed in scenarios;
Keeping the dozer operator seated at the controls and with blade down at all times to help take the pressure off the handbrake;
No ground crew working below the dozer in case of loose rocks and/or machinery slippage;
Always accessing the terrain on foot first – looking for rocks that dozer tracks could slide and skate down;
Planning for access with a plan that allowed for viable weather changes during the day; and
Fire risk: two readily positioned fire extinguishers on every piece of machinery, including ATVS.
Having gained a lifetime of tractor experience in various locations around the country as a sharemilker and now fencing waterways, swamps and wet areas, Shane Beets from A1Fenceworx could be called a bit of an expert when it comes to fencing in wet areas. He says the most important thing is to be prepared.
Know your soils
“Know your soil type, recognise what the weather has been doing and how it might impact your ability to put machinery across wet ground and what the weather is likely to do while you are on the job,” is Shane’s advice. “Consider what materials will be suitable, especially for boundary fencing. When you are quoting the job, build in an extra margin for ‘what ifs’.”
Shane thinks heavier soils like clay can be easier to get stuck in, but if you put down longer posts they are more likely to stay there. He says heavy soil doesn’t move much, and you get a suction effect.
“Lighter soils like peat and light volcanic are easier to fence but give it a few years and the fence may start to lean over. Longer droughts are making it worse by further drying out light soils making them crumbly and unstable. Soils on a pan are hard to get a post in, but they don’t move once through the pan” says Shane.
Shane thinks swamp fencing is probably the most difficult to do. Longer, heavier strainers and bigger blocked stays are essential, footings are harder to do.
“We find it more cost-effective, with a better result to put down longer posts. We always have spare 2.4 or 2.7 posts on hand. Longer posts are also a better option on moving ground.”
Shane says managing the tractor driver is critical. The guy on the post driver can see what is happening with the tractor tyres better than the driver. They approach each post from an angle and drive in and out on each set of tracks once. He says keeping up on rushes and other vegetation helps reduce sinking. They have been known to cut branches off a handy Willow tree and lay them where the tractor will drive. “It’s always easier to prepare and lay the branches before you get stuck. And if you do get stuck, stop early” says Shane.
Experience pays off for Shane
Having once been one, Shane says a farmer is going to be happier to pull a fencer out that has not made a big mess and bellied his tractor. He says that he has experienced the embarrassment of making an ‘I’m stuck again’ call 15 minutes after being pulled out.
He says they slowly “feel” their way into a swamp and fence downhill. The tractor is less likely to get stuck going backwards down a swamp. If you have a compressor handy, let some air out of the tyres.
“We do a lot of road driving with the tractors so don’t have cleats or duals. That’s never stopped us though. The whole team just have a chat about it and make a plan, then get the job done.”
Shane also suggests that when fencing along or across waterways, fencing contractors put some thought into how the fence will perform if it floods.
“Ask the landowner how high the water comes up and suggest an additional margin for serious flooding.”
Shane remembers fencing all the waterways on a local dairy farm. “The farmer was an old chap that would not spare a blade of grass and he was so angry that Fonterra was making him fence them all. I advised him that the fence should be installed further back. The farmer said “no way.” 6 months later, after 2 big floods, kilometers of fencing were gone.”
Shane says when the team fence across a stream, they set up break away points so that if a flood were to take out a fence, it will take out a small section only, making it quick and cheap to fix. They install a decent strainer each side of the waterway, but out of the main flow zone and tie weaker ties that will give in a flood, as well as staple the wires on the downstream side to further assist with the fence breaking away, but hopefully leaving the posts in place.
People have lots of small dams in Northland, and it is not an unusual request to build a jetty on a dam. The team usually do 3-4 each year and with A1fenceworx life styler client base, these types of requests are becoming more common. Shane picks his time and does them in the driest part of summer, getting out as far as possible for the client.
A recent job that A1fenceworx did, was interesting, says Shane, but not one that he would want to do every day.
“The client requested a 100-meter retaining wall, on the boundary, in the estuary, on peat soil with tree stumps underneath. A fair challenge, so I accepted the job and did our planning with the guys. We had a second tractor on site just in case.”
When they started it was nice and dry, and the client had laid tree mulch from gum trees he had cut down, but unfortunately, it started raining the second day in and it didn’t stop. “The job turned into a bog, the mulch pushed under the mud, and it was very unpleasant going. We got the tractor stuck – it wedged on a buried tree stump – but with a bit of planning and the second tractor, it popped right out” says Shane.
Because it was peat, Shane said he decided to use 3.6m long building poles with a SED (small end diameter) of 225mm. And they were heavy. The team had to slide them off the tractor forks onto place and lift them with two and sometimes three of the guys. The rails were 200x50mm and also a challenge to fit in the mud.
“Even though our best laid plans were put to the test, if we hadn’t planned for the worst, the job would have been a disaster. As it turned out, the wall is very strong and looks great and the client is super happy” Shane says.
“Northland is notorious for having wet and difficult ground to fence, especially in the winter and even though the team are used to it we still plan and approach wet areas with caution” says Shane. “We hadn’t had a tractor stuck for about 3 years until the retaining wall job. A bit of common sense always pays off and we never just charge on in.”
Fencing industry body Fencing Contractors Association NZ (FCANZ) recently presented the Whatever With Wiggy charitable trust with a $15,000 donation from its members. The funds were raised at an impromptu charity auction held at the recent FCANZ annual Conference, with Association Partners and some members donating the items to be auctioned.
“We were astounded by the generosity of not only our members for bidding on auction items but also for the support shown for this Charity by Association Partners who continued to donate items throughout the evening.” says Phil Cornelius, President of FCANZ.
Auction items ranged from tools, augers, wire, netting and Y-posts to white water rafting trips and even the shirt from the back of auctioneer Stephen Caunter. “The willingness for people to donate and bid shows just how highly they value the work that Wiggy is doing” said Cornelius.
Whatever With Wiggy founder Craig “Wiggy” Wiggins is an advocate for rural mental and physical health and champions Lean on a Gate, Talk to a Mate. Receiving news during COVID that a friend had taken his life, lead to the creation of the lean-on-a-gate movement. Wiggins says “Taking five minutes to check in with a mate, or young worker can reduce those feelings of isolation and could save a life. You never know – you just might help someone out.”
Wiggy also works closely with the Carr Family Foundation Rural Health and Wellness Van, which provides free health checks at rural events across the country. The van attended the FCANZ National Fencing Field Day in Mosgiel this year and saw almost 60 people across the day – of which over a quarter were referred to their GP for follow-up.
Phil went on to add, “The value of the work that Wiggy and his colleagues do can’t be underestimated and we look forward to seeing what we can achieve with the Charity Auction at our August 2023 Conference in New Plymouth. It is humbling to see how big the hearts are in the fencing industry.”
Auctioneer Stephen Caunter in full flow – before he auctioned the shirt from his back!
