Cheapest place to buy fencing supplies
 

Posts, wire, etc...where do you guys buy yours? Went to tractor supply yesterday and was blown away at the prices. I've got a little over 14 acres to put perimeter fence up for cattle...any suggestions?

Do you want cheap or good?

We use primarily Gallagher components on our farm. I'd locate their website to find the dealer closest to you. I recommend Thistle Down Farms in Spencervill, IN as a Gallagher dealer.

Of course my suggestion probably means nothing to you, but since you didn't list your location we really can not help you with a local recommendation.

Jim

It would help us to know where you are. If you go to the User CP (control panel), you can put in info about your location, and it will appear under the date of your posts.

If your state or county has a farmer's co-op, that will most likely be the most economical place for those purchases, but you're going to have to make a list of what you want and call around. :)

The property is located in Flemming County Kentucky...I don't live there yet but plan to in the future. I have read some articles on using the NCRS Office to provide grant assistance on paying for this. Has any one used any similar programs to fund their fence building? I am new to this whole thing as I have lived in the suburbs my entire life and I am beginning the process of moving to the country.

If you plan on using steel T-posts you can often find them on craigslist. As long as they are straight and are not deeply rusted used T-posts are nearly as good as new. Railroad ties make good corners and brace posts.

TSC is ridiculously expensive.

Menards has the cheapest stuff around, even though it is a megamegastore nightmare.

You can also check craigslist.

NCRS will help set up interior fencing for rotational grazing, but you must put up the perimeter fencing yourself.

Depends on what type of fence you plan on installing.

Figure out what type fence, then you can shop for materials.

I haven't checked my co-op here (and I need to, I am fixing to fence) but Home Depot is quite a bit cheaper than TSC on fencing materials.

I buy at our Local CO OP but it has good quality.With the price of Steel all fencing is going to be high.

big rockpile

First, let me say congratulations on your move and welcome to country life! I hope you love it as much as I always have!

As for used T-posts... absolutely! Check your local paper classified, Craigs list, or maybe there is a local radio station that does for sale/bartering/etc.

Also, don't overlook ad boards in local feed stores, grocery stores, etc. Never know what you'll find, if you check regularly.

Our farmer's co-op here is ridiculously expensive on most things. I grew up using a co-op in AZ for all my horse needs, and it was always the cheapest around. But, not so, here. I only go there as a last resort because they charge sales tax on feed and fertilizer. No other feed store around here does.

Around here it would be Agri-Supply:

http://www.agrisupply.com/default.asp

Check out Rural King as well.

Tractor supplys prices are insane. But they do match local competitors prices. Lucky for me Lowes sells sheep and goat fencing for $240 a roll (instead of the $289 TSC charges). Well, I had this nice 10% off coupon so I took it to TCS with my pricing from lowes and they actually met the price AND gave me 10% off!! I paid only $216 a roll for that fence. I do spend the $$ and buy the corner posts that TSC sells because they are treated with the old kind of treating, the kind that has arsenic in it. that formulation works WAY better then the new stuff with copper only. I also used some old Tee-posts I had laying around here for years. I bought some Rust-stop primer and green paint and repainted them.

This was 10 years ago, but I found the cheapest T posts at a metal supply place that does recycling and new sales.

While tractor suppy is expensive, I have been able to go in with a list of the materials I need for larger projects and get them to give me a bulk pricing.

TSC store policy is to give a 10% discount on volume buying. I can't recall the details but I do remember there was a chart on the inside cover of their yearly catalog that listed items covered and what the minimum was. Might be worth calling your local TSC and asking them. If they act as if they have no idea what you're talking about, tell them to look on either the inside of the front cover or on the first couple of pages, it will be there somewhere.

Pay attention to the thickness of T posts. TSC sells the cheaper, thinner, lightweight posts.

I like the idea of using railroad ties for corner posts and brace posts. Do you drill the holes and backfill around these or can you use a driver to push the ties in?
I had planned on using t-posts for my line posts. But I also have a free supply of cedar that I could cut and use...just don't know which would be better.

Thanks for all the input!
Erich

DO NOT N O T BUY GAUCHO BARBED WIRE. I bought it when I was a young man when I built my hog lot. Im rebuilding it, and useing some of the same wire. Its cheaper than US wire. ITS TERRIBLE STUFF. But it lasts forever. I heard a rumor that after WW 1, somebody enterpriseing took down alla the concertina wire on the Western Front that Argentina, our allay? gave us to use. He then sold it to farmers. Its still being used, AND over the years, its caught and held as many farmers, as it did during the war when soldiers delibertly ran into it. LOL. BUY U S A barbed wire. In later years youll thank yourselves, your kids will thank you, and whoever gets the place after your all done with it will likely thank you if theyve ever had any experience with the danged stuff.

We buy new fencing from Rural King because the main store is close to us and does run sales fairly often. We have had very good luck buying wood and metal posts at auctions/farm sales. It seems though that auctions are poor places to buy gates, hog/cattle panels for a reasonable price. I keep a price list of new fencing items when I go to the sales and am very surprised by the people who buy used fencing materials at new prices (or more than!).
My favorite scores have been to offer to clean up a pile of fence material for free when I spot it. We have acquired many gates, panels and dozens of metal posts for just the work of cleaning a pile up.

I agree, the Gaucho wire is cheaper... in every way.

Cedar posts last forever. We use them for corner posts... dig the hole about 2', then cement them in... or put braces. Straight-line fence we use steel posts about every 10', putting a cedar post about every 100' ft for pulling the wire tight.

If the cedar is free for you, there's no reason to spend the money on railroad ties, etc.

Cedar posts last forever. We use them for corner posts... dig the hole about 2', then cement them in... or put braces. Straight-line fence we use T-posts about every 10', putting a cedar post about every 100' ft for pulling the wire tight.

If the cedar is free for you, there's no reason to spend the money on railroad ties, etc.

I buy pressure treated posts from a place that sells nothing but pressure treated posts.

T-posts came from one of the big box stores, I don't remember which one. Don't waste your time with the light weight ones or the flat looking ones.

I buy American made wire. It costs about 3 times as much, but it doesn't break when you try to stretch it and it doesn't sag if you've stretched it correctly, and it doesn't break when wildlife or livestock runs into it. Red Top is the best. I've actually seen it at Costco.

I had to drive 120 miles each way to a farm supply store that had American made brace wire that wouldn't break when it was tightened.

In fencing materials, cheap is a synonym for "waste of time and money"

I guess I mis-typed when I originally posted "cheap"...I don't want cheap. I meant to ask for the best place to buy great fencing material at a reasonable price. It sounds like craigslist is my best option for the railroad ties/corner posts. I want to go woven-wire with a single strand of barbed-wire on top.
Is there a preferred brand of metal t-posts and woven-wire?

Deerhunter, maybe I missed something. Why would you spend ANY money on corner posts when you have free cedar? Some of our cedar corner posts have been here going on 50 years! Large, heavy one for corners... less large for the straight-runs.

I guess I'm just worried about them not being as strong or lasting as long...you just never see a new fence around here with them. Only the old ones that are unkept and broken/sagging.

See if there is any guard rail being replaced around you. Or ask at the local State Highway department where some is scheduled to be replaced. I just acquired 200, 8 inch x 7 to 9 foot posts from the company that replaced the guard rail. I also got 300, 5 footers. The only catch was that I also had to take the posts that had concrete around them. These went onto the creek bank for erosion control.

If they're standing straight, they look like any other post, and much more "natural" looking. :shrug: And a "post-sized" cedar trunk, especially with a nice red heart, is as strong as any other and will probably last much longer.

If you're going for aesthetics, then use what you like the look of... because your cows won't care one iota what you use for posts. I'd have like a nice 3-rail wooden fence all around, and the cross-fences, too... but I didn't win the lottery in time! ;)

I find used steel Tee posts in decent shape at the JUNKYARD, of all places.
there was a lot of damage here a few years ago from hurricane Ike that made it all the way up to Indiana. Fallen tree damage is ongoing and farmers make changes, so they pull posts and some are junked since scrap prices are high.

Most need a bit of straightening in my heavy shop vise, then left under an eave somewhere to wash off the mud. I average getting them for a buck apiece in very good condition. Farm auctions here sometimes have Tee posts, and more rarely, barbed wire.

Cut wood posts for corners, braces and line posts from your own farm if possible. I typically alternate wood posts and steel posts for line fence.

I agree with others here to avoid Gaucho barbed wire. I use good USA stuff for both woven wire and barbed wire, and buy it wherever I find a sale price: Orscheln's, TSC, or Rural King. I am NOT a fan of the high tensile woven wire, which is typically lighter gauge. In my experience, the enemy of woven wire is rust, not breakage, so the softer, tougher, thicker gauge wire is my choice. It is MUCH easier to repair after a tree falls on it, and a lot easier to handle when installing.

A word or two on gates: The light gauge steel tube gates just won't cut for me. I am willing to pay for the heavy ones. For gates that get a lot of use, I build my own out of 1 1/2" pipe for a frame, brace with wire to prevent sagging, and cover with woven wire. I weld on 1/2" x 2" x 2" tabs with a 3/4" hole pre-drilled for L-hinges and weld on a length of log chain for fastening. The first of these that Dad and I built lasted in excess of 30 years before a tornado made it disappear. I think it is worth the effort.

Some woven wire breaks easier than others because some is galvanized prior to welding... and some after.

Agree about the rust... which I've seen on others' fencing.
We use 2"x4" welded wire for goats and such... and what we put up over 6 years ago has no rust yet. But, for cattle, the 6"x6" field fencing would be fine. Not sure how it lasts long-term.

The thing about cows is... if they WANT to leave, it won't matter much what is used for fencing. I'm a firm believer that when animals have all they need, they don't try too hard to escape. Any that are determined to escape don't get to live here anymore.