"Slough Sticks" Make It Easy To Fence Through Water

"Slough Sticks" Make It Easy To Fence Through Water FENCING Fence Systems 30-1-27 Doug Schlosser and his sons, Kevin and Dan, farm at Punnichy, Sask., and wanted to avoid the unpleasant annual job of repairing or rebuilding fences in water-logged areas. "When raising livestock, sometimes you have to fence across or into sloughs, ponds or lakes. For us, fixing fence with rusted-through wires, or wooden posts that have been pushed out of the ground or rotted, was never fun. "We decided to invent something that would eliminate the problem," Doug says. After giving it much thought, the men made their own molds and began making the heavy-duty floating bases that are 20 in. across and 3 in. deep at the center. The base is made from hard foam that's coated with PVC plastic. The post is a 3?8-in. fiberglass rod that slides into a sheath in the foam base. A cotter key holds the rod securely in place. The resulting heavy-duty, but lightweight post is buoyant enough to hold up to two strands of fencing wire (barbed wire or smooth electric). The wires attach to the rod with conventional electric fence insulators. Schlosser recommends spacing the "Slough Sticks", as they call them, 20 to 25 feet apart and says they can be installed a couple ways without getting wet. "You can set it up in the winter months by just walking across the ice and setting the Slough Sticks where you want them. Then you anchor the wire on the shore at each end, and you're done." he explains. "Once the ice melts, the posts will float. For spring or summer installation, just lay the section of pre-assembled fence next to the water source you want to cross. Anchor one end and then pull the wires tight. The fence will pull itself into place and erect itself." You can span any length of water and the fence will rise and fall with changing water levels. Slough Sticks cost $17.99 (Can.) plus shipping. The inventor says they're strong enough to withstand normal wind and weather conditions. In the case of areas where extremely heavy winds are prevalent, Jaddak Creations also sells Slough Sticks with heavy-duty anchor wires on the bottom that prevent the fence from moving too far. All Slough Sticks can be left in place year-round. Because they are designed to sit flat on the ground if the water dries up, other applications for this product include using them for swath grazing or for fencing around ponds. Schlosser says some of their customers have also used Slough Sticks to hang fish nets, to hold up water pump hoses, or as buoys. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Kevin Schlosser, Jaddak Creations, Box 37, Punnichy, Sask., Canada S0A 3C0 (ph 866 314-1819 or 306 835-2427; sales @jaddak.com; www.jaddak.com).

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