In this year’s Inventions Competition entries, fencing inventions featured prominently.

These innovative gadgets and designs provide plenty of ideas to make the job of fencing fields easier and more efficient and best of all, they save on the outlay of buying new kit.

See also: Handy tools and equipment to ease farm fencing jobs

David Rowe’s fencing trailer

© David Rowe

After failing to find a suitable fencing trailer on the open market, Cornish farmer David Rowe decided to build one exactly to his liking.

The aim was to accommodate everything required for assembling a temporary enclosure around the root crops his cattle graze over the winter.

Wire reels are carried in the mesh crate at the back, stakes are laid across the middle section, and the photovoltaic panel, battery and solar fencing unit sit in dedicated positions above the drawbar.

Best of all, it cost him nothing, as he made use of box-section offcuts, wheels and axles from an old Combi Clamp handling system and various other bits that were collecting dust in the workshop.

Ken Hopkins’ telehandler post knocker

© Ken Hopkins

Rather than going to the expense of buying a dedicated telehandler-mounted post knocker, Ken Hopkins repurposed an old tractor-mounted machine.

The main task involved grafting on a Euro headstock so that it could be picked up by his compact Weidemann 5412 handler and he fitted legs so that it’s freestanding when removed.

Other enhancements include a rock spike fashioned from an old roller shaft, which can be swung into place when required.

It’s withdrawn using the loader and pivots out of the way ready for the post to be knocked in.

There is also a safety lock to ensure the hammer isn’t dropped accidentally and an external valve block on the side of the headstock so that it can be operated from the ground.

When erecting high-tensile electric fencing, an arm is slotted on to the side of the post banger so that up to four wire bobbins can be unwound simultaneously. 

Mark Hawkins’ log splitter

© Mark Hawkins

Looking for an easier way of producing firewood than swinging an axe, Mark Hawkins from Carmarthenshire fashioned a simple log splitter to mount on the back of his tractor.

Box-section steel was used for the frame and mast, with a reinforced channel for the wedge to slide in.

This is powered by a large second-hand ram with a single spool lever to operate it.

Logs rest on a platform made from heavy gauge steel plate which, thanks to the fact it’s link-arm mounted, can be set at a comfortable working height.

Ivan Vincent’s net unroller

© Ivan Vincent

Ivan Vincent fabricated a simple frame that bolts to the muck grab on his Massey Ferguson loader, allowing both a wire net unroller and tensioning mechanism to be slotted into the open-ended box-section laterals.

A lick of Massey-red paint finished the job.