High calibre workmanship exemplified at Best Practice Days

High calibre workmanship exemplified at Best Practice Days

Hi all, from the top of the South. The South Island Best Practice Days were held in Southland and Otago with very good turnouts.

It was great to have Simon Fuller demonstrating fencing techniques, footings, gate hanging on a slope and setting netting in hill country, in Southland. Considerations from a fencers point of view – thinking about the safety of getting onto the fence line and out again without any mishaps eg: tracks, weather conditions and thinking about how you are going to tackle the fence line, marking out etc. Spending time at the start results in a top fence line.

It is great having our Partners in attendance at these Best Practice Days.

Gold Partners: Waratah (Brendon Crequer) Stockade (Warren McSkimming, Mike Billinghurst & Scott McInnes) Gallagher (Lindsay Whyte & Simon Vontunzelman) Summit Steel & Wire (Tom Hill) Bayonet (Dean Ormond & Marcus White)

Silver Partners: Beattie Insulators (Ivan Beattie) Strainrite (Donald Cornwell)

Bronze Partners: Delfast (Pomare King) Kinghitter (Matt Cobb) Fence Pro (Toby Currie)

There is a lot of time and effort goes into running these days and it’s great to meet our Partners first hand and talk about product and who to contact when needing materials and tools for the job at hand. They are only a phone call away and they need feedback on how good their products are. If there is a problem, they can’t fix it unless they know there is a problem. Its a two-way street and if you need product for a job give them plenty of warning, materials don’t just appear out of thin air. It was great to have FCNZ Board Members attending Best Practice Days. Thank you Steve Mee for organising the venue in and time spent setting up the site in Benmore. Thanks to Phil Cornelius and Mike Renner for being part of the Palmerston day and networking with everyone.

Thanks to Nick Terry and your amazing team of employees for setting up a great site in Palmerston that showcased all the different products from our Partners.

From posts, Waratah fencing, stays, rabbit netting and strainers, Stockade, cleaning your tools and servicing to stapling the line, Bayonet deer fence on the finished line, Gallagher electrics all linked up and paralleled, Summit Steel & Wire Netting being run out with the new netting machine, tied off, tensioned and stapled off, the Beattie range of insulators and accessories, Strainrite’s new battery operated crimping tool, and Delfast, Kinghitter, Fence Pro. They were all there.

Jim Smith from NorthTec gave a brief on the Level 3 training and where it’s heading for the next stage.

Matt Andrews from Rural Safe kept health and safety to the forefront of both days. From Toolbox meetings at the start of the day, then checking tractors and post drivers before commencing the day’s work. Checking that there is no loose gear rolling around the cab, under the clutch or brakes. Checking your post driver’s hoses, pins, cracks, rope, pullies – making a note of anything that needs attention. Preventative maintenance saves dollars.

Safe practices on the line, working as a team, record keeping is all for your own good.

We tested 5 different footing techniques and using an electronic gauge to see what held the best in the soils we were working in. • A wooden post – 1.9 ton and lift • Post with whole waratah nailed – 2.3 ton and nail pulled out • Post and half waratah – 2150kgs • Post with waratah wired – 2.3ton • Waratah with wired waratah – 750kgs wire broke It’s important to know the ground you are working in to get the best results for a long-lasting fence. Conclusions from the footing test: 4.5 wire and H/T wire stainless will give better results. Anglier grove nails 125mm-150mm holds better than smooth nails. Waratah and posts hold well in the soil conditions we were in. A boat foot is an excellent option and probably the cheapest dollar wise. So there is some food for thought.

Testing footings at the Palmerston Best Practice Day

Thanks to Charlie Beaton for the use of your land for the day. The feedback from the Palmerston Otago Best Practice Day was the workmanship of all the fencing was of an extremely high standard which is why Nick is a Certified Fencer. Well done to your team.

Big thanks to farm owner John Kennedy and farm manager Barry Shield for having us on farm for the day and spending time with us in Southland. Special thanks to Farmlands for doing an awesome job on the on site BBQ lunches at both days.

Also, to Waratah and Stockade for picking up the tab for the coffee carts. It was very much appreciated.

Don’t forget to use our Partners for all your fencing needs they put a lot into the Association and without them FCNZ would not be where it is today.

Written by John Noakes