The Art of Containment: Practical Livestock Fencing

Practical fencing systems, equipment, and strategies tested on livestock in the steep, rocky terrain of Middle Tennessee.

Date: August 8
Time: 10 AM
Location: Basecamp Lodge at Holler Homestead, Lancaster, Tennessee

There are few things that make you question your life choices faster than standing in a field staring at livestock on the wrong side of the fence, munching on your blueberry bushes.

We’ve tried a lot of fencing systems at Holler Homestead. Some made moving animals easier. Some created more work than they saved. Some equipment has survived five years of sheep, weather, steep terrain, and regular use well enough that we’ll tell you exactly what we buy and why.

The Art of Containment is a small, practical class for people who are getting started with livestock fencing systems that work in the real world.

We’ll start inside the Basecamp Lodge to cover how electrical fencing works, and share ways to build your system off grid or on and to train your livestock to an electric fence.. Then we’ll head outside and work with the equipment.

What We’ll Cover

• Permanent and temporary electrical fencing systems
• Electric netting versus braided electric wire
• Step-in posts, insulators, and other equipment
• Strategic permanent fencing that reduces labor during livestock rotations
• Power options when you don’t have an electrical drop near your animals
• Training livestock to respect electric fencing
• Brands and models we have pressure tested over five years
• Mistakes that cost us time and money
• Strategies that work on steep, rocky, sometimes droughty terrain

You’ll get your hands on the equipment, see the fencing systems we actually use, and have time to ask questions about your own livestock and property.

About Your Instructors

The Tactical Redneck has managed sheep and wrangled fencing at Holler Homestead for five years. His background in mechanics with the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Marine Corps gave him the grit and critical thinking skills he uses to develop practical fencing systems for Middle Tennessee terrain. His experience also includes erosion mitigation, landscape design, and finding ways to reduce the labor required to manage livestock.

Nicole Sauce has spent 18 years developing Holler Homestead and adapting livestock, land, and food-production systems to the realities of a small working homestead. Her approach is practical: test systems, pay attention to what works, change what doesn’t, and share the lessons that can save other people time and frustration.

What to Bring and What’s Included

Bring comfortable clothing that works both inside and outside, along with a notebook and pen.

Your registration includes:

• Classroom and hands-on instruction
• Water and Holler Roast Coffee
• Electric Fencing Guide
• Time to discuss your own fencing challenges with the instructors

The Holler Homestead pop-up store will be open toward the end of class.