The latest installation from the Norfolk-based agricultural and equine construction specialists Dodd & Co is a cattle finishing unit in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.
The specification was to badger and deer fence the entire unit - all in all 400 metres of Tornado HT15/158/8 Badger Fencing – and add a gated front entrance. The unit was situated in a farm-yard and the owner wanted protection from badger intrusions as well as general farm-yard security options.
The project involved digging a deep ditch to sink the badger netting 250cms below the surface – the wire below the surface comprised a RL6/50/5 Tornado skirt – with 1.6 metres of high tensile wire above the surface as well as a top barbed wire as an added deterrent. The posts used in the installation were highway spec 30 year wooden posts, chosen for their durability.
Badger and deer fencing at cattle finishing unit near Wisbech
The double gates had concrete footing to ensure stability and durability and the whole project was completed in a few days.
Dodd & Co director Jamie Dodd said: “The project was a fairly straight-forward one. The main challenge was that the whole farm yard was a hardcore surface, so we had to puncture that to sink all the intermediate posts. That made it quite a tough task.”
Front gate with concrete footings
Badger proofing area that house cattle is essential for farmers as the animal is thought to be a carrier of the TB virus which can infect cattle, with fatal consequences.
A little about Tornado Badger Fencing
HT15/158/8 is ideal for use along highways or areas where badger movements need to be restricted; the closely spaced vertical stay wires help prevent badgers from pushing through the fence.
It can also be installed on post and rail fencing or used as embankment netting.
Tornado HT Badger Fence is manufactured with high tensile wire which strains tighter than mild steel and so requires fewer intermediate posts, making it quicker to erect. It does not stretch with weathering so does not need to be retightened annually. Tornado Badger fencing meets Highways Agency specifications H46 and H47.
The hardcore yard proved a tough challenge
