# Are Your Fences Up To The Law?



## Vol

Not only do good fences make for good neighbors....but they might just keep you from being on the losing end of a lawsuit. Progressive Forage Grower.

Regards, Mike

https://www.progressiveforage.com/forage-production/management/are-your-fences-up-to-the-law


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## Farmerbrown2

We always built good fences my one uncle on the other hand. we where always getting called to chase his cattle back in and of course fix the fence.


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## Tim/South

We have laws on the books concerning fences. Some either do not know, or do not care that there are standards. I mentioned at a cattlemen's meeting that there were specifics on what fences are considered legal. Folks did not want to hear any of that.

All of my parameter fences are 48"net with 2 strands of barb.

A deputy hit a cow not long ago. No one really knew what to do and they called me. From what I understand of our laws, each party assumes their individual loss.

One of our laws is really interesting. If a cow gets out and is shot by someone then that person is responsible for 5 times the cost of that animal, unless that owner has a legal fence built to keep livestock either in or out. Strange but good law.


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## KS John

LOL, I have a partition fence joining a county commissioner, and his half ( I live in KS with a 50/50 law) is always in bad shape, and I get to replace the water gaps for him, just to keep everyone's cattle straight. Guess that is the perks of being in charge!


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## Tim/South

A few years ago I was square baling ahead of a rain. We were running stockers and saw a herd of cattle on the very busy main road. Not my cows or problem when square baling. The sheriff was there mad as a hornet because I was baling and not concerned about "getting my cows up". My teen son went down and had a hard time convincing them we did not have cows, just calves.

I had already called the people I figured owned the cows. A trader had a partnership on 300 acres down the road. We, the community, finally got most of the cows in my place. Cows were running through traffic, horns blowing, people cussing and flipping us off.

The trader buyer had bought a herd of pairs at a dispersal sale and ran the calves back through. These momma cows were looking for their calves. He hauled them right back to the same pasture and I had cows in my front yard the next morning.

Their fence was a joke. The cows were walking under the fence where it crossed a big gully/drainage ditch. The gully was 6 feet deep and the cows just walked under. The average speed in front of my house is 60 MPH.


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## swmnhay

The main reason cattle get out is because they are hungry.Pasture grazed down to nothing so they are looking for something to eat.

I did have some new calves get out when a Med chopper came over low in middle of night.They spooked and hit the woven wire fence and T posts snapped and they went over and the fence popped back up.4 got out of 45.Couldnt figure out how they got out and was climbing over fence and seen the T posts wailing down the line.

Deputy was all bent and said he was chasing them all night.I said where were you chasing them to?


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## IHCman

KS John said:


> LOL, I have a partition fence joining a county commissioner, and his half ( I live in KS with a 50/50 law) is always in bad shape, and I get to replace the water gaps for him, just to keep everyone's cattle straight. Guess that is the perks of being in charge!


I've got the same problem with a neighbor who is banker/ wannabe rancher. I've owned this land next to his for 10 years and he has never once fixed his fence. There is nothing left of his fence through water spots. Instead of fixing it, he just tied wire across from his corner posts so his cattle can't walk between the fences and get out, basically just using my fence.


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## CowboyRam

Most of the guys around here instead of fixing the fences they buy those woven wire cattle panels and wire them up to there fences. We have another neighbor that put up a hot wire instead of fixing the fences; I guess fixing fence cuts to much into his sitting on his butt time.


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## mlappin

Was at a Christmas Eve party in town just this last year when the county dispatch called saying I had cows out. Told em I doubt that as all the feeders were filled before I went to town to feed myself. They were insistent that they were "probably" mine. I told em most likely not as the steers are right by where I mix feed and can see the lean to fulll of distillers grain and corn fines, the cow/calves walk right by the hoop buildings full of premium hay when they get a drink, so I really doubt they are mine. Finally came down to where are they at? Address they gave me was almost two miles away from our farm down the state highway. So got tired of arguing with them and took a drive. Found four pure angus steers standing in a yard. We haven't had an all black steer on the farm in years since crossing hereford and angus, really haven't had an all black anything since going with a shorthorn bull. Called em back and told em most likely who they belonged to. Sure enough ran into him on a side road looking for his steers. Turns out the landlady where he keeps em likes to feed em old bread or whatever, didn't shut the gate behind her after she gave em some.

What I do need to find out is in the next county who enforces fence law as we have some rented land. Some jerk from the city bought a pea patch right next door, of course has a horse so had somebody plant a whole 1 1/2 acres of hay, course first he tore the dividing fence out before planting the hay. He then preceded to raise twelve kinds of hell after we did burndown because some of his hay got sprayed. Told him first of all his hay was on our land and if some moron didn't tear the fence out it would never be an issue. He was just enough of a prick I really want to see him eat the entire cost of replacing it.


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## panhandle9400

I have 32 miles of hot wire out this winter and 10 chargers on with solar panels hooked to the batteries . Have 670 of yearlings turned out on wheat and stalks and have yet to have any out , but I got a neighbor that cant keep his in ever ! Pisses me off to no end when my phone rings at night and ask if my cattle are out ! Here if you have a neighbor that wont or cant keep his stock in , you can load them up haul to a salebarn and sell them in their name and hold out any cost that you are owed . Good fences make good neighbors .


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## slowzuki

We get the fun of moose walking through fences. They put up 10 ft high page wire on the highways here to stop so many people getting killed much less than that they will blunder and struggle their way through.


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