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Sustainable agriculture is not just for winning conservation awards, it can also provide economical practices that make farming financially feasible. That’s the belief of Arthur Keys and his wife, Jasna Basaric-Keys, owners of Keystone Farm and winners of the Washington County Conservation District’s 2015 Conservation Farmer of the Year award.

Keys spent years in Washington, D.C., both lobbying for and overseeing the implementation of agriculture and development in the United States and abroad. “The agricultural industry is the No. 1 industry in many thirdworld countries,” Keys said. “Therefore, economic aid often comes in the form of sustainable agriculture practices. “The use of better practices can also aid in the overall health of an area,” he said. “I wanted to test some of the same theories used elsewhere right here in southwestern Pennsylvania to see how similar it would be.” Keys and Basaric-Keys bought their 270-acre farm in 2005, and since it had been out of production for well over five years, they were able to immediately have the pastures certified as organic for their registered Hereford herd to graze.

They, along with Lynn Bayne, their farm manager, set to workimplementing additional measures to ensure efficient operation through sustainable practices. “We began an intense invasive weed eradication whereby we manually and mechanically removed multiflora roses and tree of heaven from our woodlots and pastures,” Keys said. “We implemented a regular system of soil testing and apply limestone as needed,” he said. “We began streambank fencing and rotational grazing as well.” Basaric-Keys, a former biologist, is a proponent of rotational grazing. “The rotational grazing is not only healthy for the grasses, but it also naturally reduces parasites in the cattle,” she said. The rotational grazing allows the cattle to be on pasture 12 months a year, minimizing confinement and naturally dispersing manure, eliminating the need for fertilizer applications.

Free-choice minerals fed to the cattle are naturally dispersed to the grasses through the manure. The cows typically have access to the woodlots during the hottest and coldest months of the year, when they need shelter. “Our nine miles of fencing is probably our best economic practice to date,” Keys said. “We are utilizing all of the available pasture space now, and we stockpile pasture in the hayfields that we then temporarily fence off during the months when the other pastures are low.” Accompanied by a pump station and an all-weather hydrant system that allows water from one of the ponds to be drawn into temporary tanks in previously inaccessible fields, the additional pasture means less hay is fed, creating an opportunity for selling any surplus.

Keystone Farm also boasts a 1-acre pollinator field, where wildflowers Continued from A1 encourage bees and other pollinators that will benefit the blooming grasses, such as clover, in the pastures. “We have worked with the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the (county conservation district) to implement programs with impact,” Keys said. “We have a volunteer nutrient management plan, a manure management plan, established wildlife habitat areas, solar panels that electrify the barn and fences, and squirrel ladders in our gravity-fed troughs,” he said. Keys and Basaric-Keys are looking toward the future and how they can continue to become more sustainable and, therefore, more profitable.

They are considering geothermal troughs buried deep in the ground to keep the water from freezing, which would eliminate the labor of breaking ice and provide constant water for the cattle. They are also thinking of placing additional birdhouses around the ponds for insect and mosquito control, and they are contemplating ways to repurpose their silos, and improve their roads and runways. “We are proud of our accomplishments as well as this award,” Keys said. “But there is still much to do.”

Photos by Laura Zoeller This pond provides water so cattle can graze pastures that previously had inadequate water sources. Arthur Keys and Jasna BasaricKeys pose in their home a few days after receiving the award. Keystone Farm’s registered Hereford cattle graze 12 months a year on certified organic pastures. A dozen solar panels fully supply the fences and the barn with power.

A female prisoner has been charged after her escape attempt from a Hobart prison failed at the final hurdle.

The 35-year-old was charged on Monday night after she was caught in the electrified cyclone fencing atop the outer perimeter fence of the Mary Hutchinson Women's Prison in Risdon Vale.

She was cleared of injuries by the prison's medical staff, police said on Tuesday.

The Lebanon County Grazing Network will present a grazing conference 9:45 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29, at the Lebanon County Extension Office, 2120 Cornwall Road, Lebanon, Pa.

Presentations will include “Grazing Brassicas” by Leanne Dillard of USDA-ARS; “Organic Dairy Farming” by Myron Martin, a Maryland farmer; and “Making Quality Hay and Baleage” by Dwane Miller from Penn State Extension.

The conference is free but pre-registration is requested. To register, call Susan Richards, Capital Area RC&D, at 717-241-4361.

Training livestock to respect an electric fence is the key to keeping them in. Wires that are consistently hot teach cattle to stay away from the fence.

While efficient design of an electric fencing system is essential, getting dependable performance from energizers is equally critical.

“An electric fence is a psychological barrier. When cattle come up to it, they’ll turn away if they respect it,” says Ken Miller. The Fort Rice, North Dakota, rancher is a mentor for and a member of the North Dakota Grazing Lands Coalition. He also works as a technician for the Burleigh County Soil Conservation District.
Besides grazing his own beef herd of 100 cow-calf pairs, he also custom-grazes 125 pairs annually. His managed grazing system involves rotationally grazing cattle on 1,400 acres of native grass pastures as well as on 128 acres of irrigated grassland. The rangeland comprises 38 paddocks, and crossfencing on the irrigated pasture permits grazing in parcels as small as 3 acres when grass is growing rapidly.
Miller’s energizer of choice for delivering consistent power to paddocks that are 4 and 5 miles from home is a 10- to 12-joule 110-volt plug-in version.
“A high-joule plug-in energizer can power 15 to 20 miles of electric fence,” he explains. “It can generate 6,500 to 8,000 volts. The newer models of plug-in energizers won’t start fires and won’t short out like the older models tended to do.”
Miller’s plug-in energizer is located at the ranch headquarters, and it pushes the power up to 5 miles to the most distant paddocks. A continuous wire offset from the boundary fences of the paddocks delivers the power to whatever paddock the cattle are grazing.
Effective grounding helps ensure that the energizer can perform to its fullest capacity in electrifying a fence. Near the energizer, Miller installed three ground rods in a series. The rods are driven into the ground at a depth of 6 to 7 feet.
“I use galvanized ground rods,” he says. “I then use galvanized wire to connect the series of rods to the energizer. If I were using copper ground rods, I would use copper wire to connect to the energizer.”
Miller’s energizer costs about $800, but he says the cost of energizers can cover a wide range. “Prices can vary anywhere from $50 to $2,000 for an energizer that puts out as much as 25 joules,” he notes.
However, he says he has had some plug-in energizers work effectively for as long as 15 years.
“You can also get battery-powered energizers that you hook up to a 12-volt battery,” he says. “If you happen to let the battery go dead and the fence is cold, you can end up spoiling the cattle.”
Once cattle discover that a fence is cold, some may learn to keep testing the fence. Eventually, they learn that they can crawl through the wires when the fence is not electrified.
Solar-powered energizers are also options, but Miller prefers these for smaller fencing systems.
Border fences in Miller’s system are of three-wire construction. The height of the top wire is 40 inches. The spacing between the wires is 12 to 16 inches, with the bottom wire at least 12 to 18 inches above the ground.
“Both the top and bottom wires are hot. The middle wire is cold and provides additional grounding for the fence,” he says.
Wooden or steel posts spaced about 75 feet apart support the wires in the three-wire border fences.
Crossfences within paddocks are constructed of a single wire supported by step-in posts. Polywire provides additional splitting of paddocks when needed.
The beauty of electric fencing is the unlimited flexibility it offers for managing grazing livestock. The potential sum effect is more efficient use of grass.
“Since I’ve gone to rotational grazing and high-density stocking of paddocks, I’ve been able to double my stocking rate,” says Miller. “I’m presently managing 40-acre paddocks. This will let me get even more grass growth.”

Match The System To Your Needs
Electric fence energizers are available in multiple makes and sizes. Selecting an energizer to meet your needs is not unlike buying a tractor to fit your acreage, says David Lautt of Lautt’s Feed & Supply in Harvey, North Dakota. A long-time provider of electric fencing supplies, Lautt also uses electric fencing for his own cattle and buffalo herds.
The 110-volt plug-in energizers are a common choice among his customers, along with energizers powered by either a solar panel or a 12-volt battery.
“If you’re using a battery, it’s important to use a deep-cell battery,” he says. “A deep-cell battery is designed to be drawn down and then charged back up. Whereas, a regular automotive battery is designed to be continuously charged by a vehicle’s alternator.”
A properly sized solar panel can be used to continuously charge the battery powering an energizer.
Large solar-panel energizers are also available. “These can provide significant power, and we have a few that have continued working for 20 to 25 years,” he says.
Smaller solar units are available for under $200 and can power relatively shorter spans of electric fence. These units operate on a small internal battery, and after two years these batteries typically need replacing.
The length of fence an energizer can power depends upon the degree of resistance built into the fence and its environment.
“If you’ve got wires running through a cattail slough, for instance, you’ll reduce the power that’s potentially available from the energizer,” says Lautt. “It’s all about the drawdown load on the fence itself.”
He likens an electric current on a fence to a water pipe. The greater the resistance encountered by the electric current, the more the capacity for flow is reduced. This is not unlike the downsizing of the diameter of a water pipe, which reduces the flow of water as a result.
Thus, wire size plays a role. The 14-gauge wire, which is larger than 17-gauge wire, conducts electricity more effectively. The 12.5-gauge, high-tensile wire carries current even more effectively than the 14-gauge. By comparison, polywire conducts electricity less effectively than regular wire.

We are Valley Farm Supply. We are a direct source for your livestock fencing needs. We offer SPEEDRITE fence chargers to professional farmers, ranchers as well as hobby farmers. We also handle Patriot, Cyclops, Parmak, Gallagher, and other brands of electric fence chargers, fencing materials, seed, equine items and farm supplies. Please ask if we can supply your farm with the things you need to be successful.

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speedrite fence chargers are high quality New Zealand made low impedance energizers at an American price. This “go-anywhere” electric fence charger can be used for any type of livestock.  They are available in several dual purpose models. Using the power adaptor supplied, the speedrite can be connected to 110 Volt line input. Alternatively, by using the battery leads supplied the speedrite charger can be powered by a 12 Volt battery.  Patriots come with a two year factory warranty.

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