We wanted to get one more big project before the rain starts, and that big project was a permanent fence along our stream. This jumped to the head of the list because of a program we are part of with the King County Conservation District. Since we attended their Farm Plan classes and then got a Farm Plan, we are eligible to get reimbursed by the County for certain projects. Things like our manure bins, animal containment areas, and wetland buffer fences are reimbursed up to set percentages.
The buffer fence is around 75%.
We had a project manager from the Conservation District come out to help draw out where the fence will go to qualify for a Wetlands Restoration Project. After we do our fence, the KCD will come out and restore as much of our stream buffer to native plants. They say they will also maintain it for three years. This is very good news for us.
The first step was clear out some of the blackberries that were right on the new fence line and get the post holes dug. I decided to hire The Brush Monster. It's a bit spendy ($160/hr) but I think it's money well spent. If you've ever taken out blackberry bushes by hand, check this machine out.
Rancher Ron 1 - Blackberry Bushes 0 from ron upshaw on Vimeo.
We decided that since this part of the pasture gets pretty wet in the winter, we'd go with 4x6 pressure treated posts, and 180lbs of cement in each hole. That's totally overkill, but I only want to do this thing once. Since we're getting reimbursed for some of the cost, I spent a few hundred dollars extra on bigger posts and more cement.
I'll get some pics of how things turned out...
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| From City Boy Starts Farmin' |
