Hay is salted, especially was back in the day by old-timers in order to prevent mold from growing if it’s not dry enough, which can ruin it. Some folks also claim that it prevent pests like rats from nesting inside of it too, so there’s that.

Homesteaders who have never seen this being practiced before might think that the additional salt in the hay is bad for their animals, which is definitely not true as it’s simply going to add more of it to their diet, although will increase the water consumption, but  also make it taste better.

Does it prevent hay fires?

The possibility of a hay fire definitely increases the more wet the hay is, although the salting process doesn’t reduce the chance of it happening.

Square bales are easy to stack, but have to be done properly especially if they’re not dry in order to let them air out fully, which all can prevent hay fires.

How to salt hay properly

A handful of plain white salt is all you need for a square bale, so just throw it around all sides You can buy a 50 pound (22.7 kg) salt bag in just about any home improvement store for cheap. In case you have loose hay, again a handful of salt on each layer should be more than enough.

Iodized salt could work too if applied every now and then, but it’s usually not necessary especially if the animals already get it from licking salt blocks.

Too much salt can also ruin the stack, so you better apply less by following my recommendations.

Other reasons why you might want to salt your hay

Some people salt the hay even if they know it’s dry just to be sure. Others do it if they live in more hot and humid climate, especially if their barn is more leaky than not.

Clearing land is not an easy task to embark on, so down below i compiled some best ways you can approach this job.

Land clearing services

Best way to clear brushy land is definitely by letting professionals do that, in other words contacting your local land clearing company. It sure is the quickest way, but also the most expensive especially depending on how much works there’s to be done.

Using heavy equipment by yourself

If you want to save more money although get the job done slower, you can either rent the equipment or buy it and later resell.

Land clearing is not an easy or fast job, so even if you have an acre or so to clean but it’s all full of brush and small trees, it can take a season or so to finish.

A month’s rent of a skid-steer loader with mulcher can cost over 10,000$, so if you can get the job done in that time period this might be the way to go, or you can just buy one for around 30,000$, use it as much as you want and later sell without losing much money, but then again there’s additional cost for the mulcher attachment too.

There are definitely other equipment you can try getting for brush clearing like tractors, bulldozers with different attachments like brush hogs and so, but i feel a skid-steer with a mulcher is the best choice, not to mention a mulcher can actually cut the trees right away without needing to pull them out.

How to actually do it?

Well if you end up getting a skidsteer with a mulcher, all you really have to do is go over the things you want to get rid of and it’ll get the job done.

It definitely is great to kill the trees without the need to pull them out, but the problem with that is they can still regrow eventually, and if you will use the place for more than just a pasture, you should consider approaching it differently.

Small trees can usually be easily pushed over by using the front loader, but if that doesn’t work too great you can get a brush grubber (link to Amazon) which will help pull out any tree that’s around 5 inches (12.7 cm) or smaller.

Once the trees are out of the ground, you can either mulch them separately or cut them up with a chainsaw and use as firewood.

Alternatives

The methods i discussed above are definitely the winners, but there are still some great things you can try instead that are definitely cheaper.

Hands down the cheapest way to clear any brush is literally by hand. The brush can be mowed down using a weed whacker and a saw blade which works great for anything under 1 inch (2.5 cm), and when it comes down to trees your best bet is to get out a chainsaw.

Goats can literally eat anything in their way, and if you have some you can just enclose them in the area and let them do their job – it’s sure not very fast, but certainly won’t take much of your time.

Do i need a tractor capable of running all four wheels? Is it any good? These are the questions i answer on this article.

4WD tractor advantages

Must have for boggy conditions. Four-wheel drive tractors provide better even traction with the ground, so if you think of doing more than just basic agricultural work like firewood logging, snow plowing, forest work then this type of tractor should definitely be a number one priority for you.

Great for hills. In case that your homestead, or really any place you’re going to be doing some type of work with a tractor has steep hills, 4×4 is the only way to go, which is even more crucial if everything around is slippery.

Definitely the choice if you’ll be doing a lot of loader work. For sure there are two-wheel drive tractors with front loaders out there, but they don’t work as well when compared with the 4WD ones especially when there’s a lot of load upfront.

Works in all tight spots. Compact four-wheel drive tractors can do work in places where the same size 2WD one couldn’t because of traction issues.

Because the tractor tires spin less just about anywhere, it can use less fuel as the overall traction is better.

2WD tractor advantages

Simply cheaper. These types of tractors more often than not cost less than 4WD ones, so if you’re just going to be doing some basic tilling, hay mowing or really any agricultural work in good conditions, this might be the way to go.

Normally cheaper to repair, and that all has to do with the fact that there’s less moving parts at work.

What should i go for?

I really don’t see why any modern farmer, landowner or a homesteader would want to get a two-wheel drive tractor. They are history when compared to what a proper 4WD one could do.

They’re definitely more expensive, but the additional features you get surely beats that, at least in my opinion. Even if the place i live didn’t have much of the extreme conditions i talked about before, knowing that i have the ability to go with all four wheels will definitely save my day eventually.

Many folks who have never used a tractor with a front loader before don’t really realize on what they’re missing out – having one, especially on a smaller tractor let’s you do things like digging, carrying firewood, snow plowing and such, thus making your life easier.

But as i said before, it all depends on what you do. If you want to upgrade your existing 2WD tractor to a more powerful one and never had the need for all four wheels, you might just want to stick with what works.

They even look better than t-posts, at least in my opinion, so the question is can you use them for that?

Well… it depends

Landscape timber isn’t really made for in-ground use. Sure a lot of it on the market is pressure treated, but normally not enough to sustain the amount of moisture most soil contains.

It all really depends on just how moist your ground is, because if it’s more sandy and dry that can alone be enough to prevent any rot.

That is usually the main reason why for some people the posts seem to be fine for years while for others start falling apart the next season.

These type of timbers made decades ago seem to have held a lot better which probably had something to do with the fact that they were treated with more chemicals, or simply made better.

T-posts vs. Landscape Timbers

What makes t-posts great, and definitely better than really any kind of wooden post is that they’re easy to set in.

Doing so with a post pounder is simple and easy, while to fix landscape timbers in the ground would require additional digging which definitely takes more time and effort. Not to mention, if you’re going to be setting them in concrete it’s going to take even more time and obviously increase the cost.

T-posts also last a lot longer, if not indefinitely simply because they’re made from metal.

Another thing about them is that they’re easy to reuse, while digging out wooden posts would definitely need more trying. Also, after taking out they probably wouldn’t be as good to use again.

Even though t-posts can last a long time, they typically aren’t as stable once set in ground in comparison with landscape timbers, but that has a lot to do with quality of the ground. Timbers can also be nailed in a crossbar pattern which helps strengthen the whole structure more.

Treating the landscape timber further

If the soil on your homestead is indeed wet you can try treating the wood additionally with wood preservatives you can get at just about any home improvement store. To save money doing so, make sure to coat only the part of timber that’s going to be in the ground.

These wooden posts can last a lot longer if they’re going to be set in concrete, but as i said before, it’s going to increase the overall cost more.

What about strength?

It’s definitely not the hardest type of wood out there you could try using for fencing – it can simply break with not that much tension, so trying to enclose larger animals like bulls in such fence could be problematic.

Another issue with landscape timbers is that many of them come quite wet from the shop, and as they dry out on the sun they might change shape significantly which can make your fence lean.

Conclusion

So can you use them as fencing posts? I think you can give it a shot as long as you’re vigilant about how damp the ground is on your property, as i think that’s the main reason which can determine whether you can do it or not.

I should begin by noting that placing permanent or really any type of marker by yourself is sometimes illegal in some states and countries, not to mention it’s even worse if you end up doing so in a spot where you thought it was your land but actually wasn’t, so make sure to contact your local land surveyor first.

T-posts

I think the best way to mark a property line, or a corner for that matter is with t-posts. They don’t cost too much and are tall, usually about 6 feet (1.83 m) which makes them stick out quite a bit. After installing into the ground, you can spray paint them for more visibility in colors like the classic orange and such.

You can also cover them with PVC piping with a cap in order to make the posts more thick allowing more paint coverage, which’ll obviously make them even easier to see.

To reinforce the whole construction, try placing some rocks around them.

Wooden posts

Really any type of wooden post will suffice as long as it’s at least 6 feet (1.83 m) long, but it’ll work best if the wood is treated to make it last longer.

A thick 4″ x 4″ (10 cm x 10 cm) post would definitely work, although it will definitely cost a lot more than t-posts, not to mention you’ll need to put in more work in order to make them stay in the ground.

Setting the posts permanetly

If people had already tried removing or displacing your old markers in random places you might consider setting the posts in cement, and that should be done in a hole that’s at least 2 feet (61 cm) deep.

Plants

You can even try planting any type of plant you like on your property lines or corners. Trees would also work great, just make sure they do look different especially if you’re going to be doing that in the middle of the woods.

Just build a fence

The best, although definitely the most expensive way to guarantee a pure disclaimer of your own property is by building a fence. That doesn’t always make sense if you have a lot of land, but if you grow livestock and want to put up some fencing, you might just end up shooting two birds with one stone.

There are definitely some good fencing options on the market, but the choice in this case probably won’t be expensive as you’re on a tight budget.

Electric netting is the way to go

This type of goat fencing does cost more per foot especially if you don’t have an energizer to power it all with electricity to begin with, but the fact that it’s a temporary structure is what makes it the cheapest option.

A netting can be easily used in different paddocks as it’s easy to build and take down, therefore you can cover more ground than a permanent woven wire fence would for less price.

It’s true that setting up and taking down the netting fence, especially every other day or week isn’t a short process considering that you’ll also have to mow the grass in places where you’ll be placing the poles, but that’s what you’ll have to deal with if you want to save some cash.

Not to mention this option is a lot better if you’re just starting out in growing goats as you don’t even know whether you’ll like it all or not, and selling this type of fence back is definitely easier.

It’s an economical but not the best solution

The thing about this type of electric fencing is that if you’ll ever want to expand your feeding pasture size further, you’ll have to invest in a more expensive energizer which will definitely bump up the overall cost more.

Even if you won’t end up taking down the whole fence frequently you’ll still have to make sure to keep the grass underneath trimmed in order to make electricity pass through properly, which is again additional work.

Also, it doesn’t work the greatest when you want to separate a buck from females as netting is really just a psychological barrier, so they sure can still try to ‘ram’ through a 6000 volt barrier.

Besides, i think goats are going to be a lot more safer when protected by a proper wire fence as it should work better against other animal entrances like dogs, coyotes and such.

What about escaping?

Goats have a reputation of being the main escape artists in any farm, so some people think that electric netting is useless because of that reason.

It’s true that goats can traverse or jump over just about any fence, especially the electric netting type with ease but they usually only do so when they’re unhappy.

As long as you always make sure the goats have something to munch on they should not try to escape. If you leave them without much feed for even a couple of hours, well it’s your own problem.

Matter of fact, even if you get a proper, tall wire fence they will sure still try to climb through it no matter what and probably succeed doing so if you don’t follow this rule, so keep that in mind.

You can also try making some toys for them which will furthermore increase their level of happiness.

When to get wire fencing?

In case that you already tried growing some goats and want to take it to the next level, it’s definitely the way to go.

Goats like sticking their heads through any type of hole so if you will end up building a wire fence for them, make sure the openings in it are smaller than their heads to prevent that. Also expect them to stand, rub on the fencing a lot, so the addition of toys in their daily activity can also help reducing the chance of that happening.

Tips on building a permanent wire fence

You definitely need to use some type of posts to hold your wire fence together, but that doesn’t necessarily has to be done with t-posts, which can definitely get expensive.

What you can try to use instead is pallet wood. Pallets are often times free to get, and once you take them apart, there’s a lot usable wood you can use for fencing material.

Old fencing equipment is often being sold by farmers who don’t need it anymore, so make sure to stroll around your neighborhood and see what you can score!

Fencing is not always needed

If you think of having a single goat or just a couple, you might even consider tethering them which is definitely cheaper than any type of fencing, although you have to be very careful when doing so as goats are known to tangle themselves in it, or simply become a bait for other animals.