Agricultural fencing is a different business than residential. Scale is larger, cost-per-foot is lower, and the spec depends entirely on what you’re containing or excluding. Here’s the practical breakdown of what we install across Humboldt, Trinity, and Shasta county ranches and farms.
The five main ag fence types we install
1. Barbed wire cattle fence
The workhorse of American ranching. 4 or 5 strands of galvanized barbed wire on wood posts, steel T-posts, or both.
Typical spec:
- 5 strands for cattle (spacing: 12”, 10”, 10”, 10”, 10” from the ground)
- Treated wood posts at 16, 20 ft spacing, T-posts between
- Corner and gate bracing (H-brace or diagonal brace)
- Galvanized staples, cut tight so wire doesn’t slip
Best for: cattle ranches, open range, perimeter fencing on large parcels. We install this across the Hayfork Valley, the greater Trinity County area, and on ranches around Fortuna, Ferndale, and Rio Dell.
Pricing: depends on post spacing, terrain, and total run. Request a free estimate and we’ll walk the fence line with you.
2. High-tensile smooth wire fence
The modern evolution of cattle fence. High-tensile wire (stronger steel, tensioned properly) on fewer posts than traditional barbed wire, with the option to electrify one or more strands for training.
Typical spec:
- 5, 7 strands of 12.5-gauge high-tensile wire
- Wooden or steel posts at 20, 40 ft spacing (longer spacing saves post cost)
- In-line tensioners to keep the wire taut over time
- Optional electric energizer for 1, 2 “hot” strands
Best for: rotational grazing, dairy cattle, horses, and any mixed-use ag property. More expensive per-linear-foot than barbed wire up front, but lasts longer and costs less to maintain.
Pricing: request an estimate: quote depends on strand count, electrification, post material, and total run.
3. Woven-wire field fence
Mesh fence with horizontal and vertical wires woven into a grid pattern. Used for sheep, goats, pigs, small livestock, and property-line perimeters where you want solid exclusion.
Typical spec:
- Hinge-joint or fixed-knot mesh, varying mesh opening by animal
- 4-ft tall for standard sheep/goat perimeters
- 8-ft tall for deer exclusion (see our deer fencing post)
- Treated wood posts or steel T-posts
Best for: small livestock, grower parcels, market gardens, orchards. The Arcata Bottom and Mad River bottomlands have a lot of working ag where this is the right call.
Pricing: quote depends on height, mesh spec, and total run, call us or request an estimate.
4. Split-rail fence
Decorative boundary fence, rough-sawn redwood, 2, 3 rails. Not a containment fence; it marks a boundary.
Best for: property entrances, pasture boundaries where aesthetics matter, horse properties where containment is handled by a separate interior fence.
Pricing: depends on rail count, post spacing, and total run, request a free estimate.
5. Ranch gates
Every ag property has gates, and gates are where a lot of fences fail early if they’re under-spec’d. We build:
- Tube-steel ranch gates (12, 14, or 16 ft wide, welded tube frame, painted or powder-coated
- Wooden ranch gates) rough-sawn redwood, 4, 6 rail, more traditional aesthetic
- Automatic driveway gates, for ranch entrances where you want controlled access (see our automatic gates page)
Gate hardware is sized to the weight of the gate. A cheap 12-ft gate on undersized hinges will sag within two years. We spec heavy-duty hinges and diagonal bracing on every gate we build.
The corner-and-gate bracing spec
One thing that distinguishes a good ag fence from a cheap one: the corner and gate bracing.
The horizontal tension of a long wire run loads up at the corners. If the corner post isn’t braced properly, the wires eventually pull the corner over, and once a corner goes, the whole run goes with it.
Our standard corner bracing is:
- H-brace: two vertical posts connected by a horizontal rail and a diagonal tension wire. Solid under high wire tension.
- Diagonal brace: single brace rail from the corner post angled back to an anchor. Simpler, good for moderate runs.
- Corner post size: 6-inch or 8-inch diameter treated wood (or heavier steel for high-security sites), set 3, 4 ft deep in concrete or compacted clay.
Skip the bracing and the fence will visibly lean within a few winters. Build the bracing right and the fence holds its line for decades.
Dairy fencing, Humboldt’s specialty
The Eel River delta around Ferndale and Loleta is some of California’s historic dairy country. Dairies have specific fence needs:
- Perimeter: cattle fence (barbed wire or high-tensile), with periodic cross-fencing for pasture rotation
- Loafing areas: woven-wire field fence around barns and loafing pads
- Laneways: chain link or heavy woven wire along cow paths to direct movement
- Calf paddocks: tighter mesh for calves that can slip through standard cattle fence
We do a lot of dairy work in the Ferndale / Loleta corridor and have experience with the specific fence specs different dairy operations require.
Service areas
Ag fence work concentrates in the rural and semi-rural parts of our service area:
- Fortuna and the Eel River valley (dairy and mixed ag
- Ferndale delta) historic dairy country
- Willow Creek (Trinity River ranches, grower parcels
- Hoopa Valley) river-bottom ag
- Hayfork (Trinity County ranch country
- Garberville / Redway) Southern Humboldt grower operations
- Anderson, Shasta County ag
How to plan an ag fence project
A few things that make ag quotes easier:
- Measure your perimeter, even a rough measure off Google Maps gets you in the ballpark
- Know your animals, cattle, sheep/goats, horses, deer exclusion all have different specs
- Identify gate locations, where does the truck pull in? Where does the tractor need access?
- Flag any known obstacles, existing fence to remove, creek crossings, rocky sections, steep terrain
- Plan for corner posts, every turn in the fence line adds a corner (and bracing cost)
We walk the property line at the estimate and measure properly. For large ranches, we may drive the fence line with you if it’s more than a mile or two.
Remote sites
For ranches that are 60+ miles from our Fortuna yard (Hayfork, Hoopa, deep Trinity County), we batch jobs in the area when we can, and for larger scopes our crew stays on-site through the install rather than driving back and forth. Remote doesn’t mean out of reach. It just means scheduling works differently.
Build it once
Ag fence is the kind of install where doing it right the first time saves you money for decades. A cheap cattle fence you replace in 10 years costs more than a proper one that lasts 30. Corner bracing, hardware spec, and post depth are where the long-term value is.
Call (707) 822-9511 for ranch and farm fence estimates across Humboldt, Trinity, and Shasta counties.