The Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine (DAFM) has updated the minimum specification for farm fencing used for livestock and horses under the Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Schemes (TAMS 3).
The department said that timber used in cattle, deer, sheep and goat fencing shall meet the requirements of Irish Standard (IS) 436, while timber used in horse fencing shall meet the requirements of IS437.
The timber should be certified as meeting that requirement by the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) or an equivalent EU notified body.
The department outlined that timber fencing should only be sourced from the following permitted species:
After drying and immediately prior to preservative treatment, the moisture content of posts for sheep, deer and goat fencing shall not exceed 28%, while the moisture content for horse fencing should not be over 26%.
The department now recommends that all timber used in fencing and gates for horses should be treated with copper oil preservatives.
The purchase of creosote treated timber fence posts and fence rails was banned from April 30, 2023.
The update states that the use of flexible rails in place of timber rails for post and rail fencing either as boundary or paddock fencing for horses is permitted.
The department has published an updated list of companies approved to produce fencing posts for grant-aided schemes on its website.
“It is important that an applicant confirms that any timber post manufacturer included on this list retains up to date certification to IS 436.
“This can be checked by viewing the NSAI website and doing a ‘certified company search’ for the company in question,” DAFM said.
DAFM
The department said that gates for cattle fences will only be grant-aided as part of a new fence.
Gateways for bovine fencing shall be at least 3.6m wide between the inside faces of the gate posts and the gate shall be, at least,1.2m high.
In the case where the gate is used as an entrance from a public road, they shall open inwards.
DAFM said that all gates should be fitted with an adequate locking mechanism and be hung using “suitably sized proprietary gate hangers” and the main frame shall be between 50mm and 100mm above ground level.
All gate hanging posts and closing posts must be independent of any fence post, the department added. Hanging posts and closing posts must each be not less than 2.28m long.
The department said that the provision of styles to enable people to cross over a fence should be considered where a farmer is erecting a fence in a scenic or mountainous area with agreed walking routes.