Trident Fence

Reduce Deer Losses, Protect Livestock and Lower Lifetime Costs

( SPONSORED CONTENT)— Ask three neighbors about the“ best” fence and you’ ll hear four opinions. But when you pencil out crop losses, labor hours and repairs over ten years, a pattern emerges: the right spec— installed the right way— costs less in the long run. This is the new math of farm fencing: fewer headaches, fewer escapesand more seasons where the fence simply does its job.

Start With Your Problem— Not a Product

Before choosing materials, be specific about what you’ re keeping in and what you’ re keeping out. A cattle perimeter on open pasture is a different challenge than protecting a vineyard from deer or a mixed flock from coyotes. Height, mesh size, wire gauge and bracing all flow from that first definition. Get this right, and the rest of the decisions fall into place.

Livestock Fencing: Fit the Mesh to the Herd

Cattle, sheep, goats and mixed herds stress fencing differently, so the spec should follow the animals you’ re managing.

“ Start with the animals in front of you, then spec the fence,” said Horetsky.“ Calves and lambs? Go tighter at the bottom. Need something that won’ t sag when the weather swings? Choose 12.5-gauge fixed-knot. Got goats? Use stout woven wire and a slightly forward top rail so they’ ve got nothing easy to climb or lean on.”

In practice, that means fixed-knot woven wire for strength and shape retention, small openings near the ground for young stock and hardware choices that resist rubbing and pushing. Get those details right, and you reduce escapes, snags and time spent on repairs.

Deer pressure: Eight Feet Matters

Deer are Olympic jumpers. A six-foot fence that“ worked fine last year” often fails as pressure increases or food sources shift. For most orchards, vineyards, vegetables and nurseries, an eight-foot barrier is the reliable line between success and expensive nibbling. Producers use either heavy poly deer fence with tensioned top / bottom lines or metal fixed-knot mesh in high-pressure zones. The key is a clean, vertical face with no nearby launch points( berms, rocks or equipment) that help deer gain height.

“ If deer are part of your problem, eight feet isn’ t a luxury— it’ s the difference between works and doesn’ t,” said George Horetsky, senior sales representative for Trident Fence.“ At that height, you stop the easy jumps and the‘ launch pad’ assists that beat shorter fences.”

14 | 800-247-2000 | 515-955-1600 | December 2025