Wood Fences Built To Stop Washouts

Wood Fences Built To Stop Washouts FENCING Miscellaneous I got tired of fixing soil berms at the bottom of waterways that washed out after heavy rains on our farm near Kenyon Minn My neighbor and I had originally built the berms about 3 ft high behind the tile standpipes but swirling water eroded the berms leaving big washouts to be repaired almost every year Hopefully I solved the problem in 2014 on two of the berms by erecting 6-ft tall wood fences behind the standpipes and in front of the soil berms One fence is 130 ft long with 8-in posts spaced 10 ft on center We attached 2 by 8-in tongue and groove treated pine boards with galvanized deck screws The longer fence is placed on the center of the property line and the standpipe is about a foot inside the fence on our neighbor’s land It’s built to hold water up to 5 ft deep which allows at least an hour to drain into the 6-in tile line We also built a 30-ft fence on another field to prevent water from running into an old culvert basin The water seemed to find its way through that area every few years even though we packed dirt in real well when the culvert was removed and planted deep-rooted grass Hopefully this fixes it permanently The shorter fence has soil packed level to the top of the wood about 2 ft above the stand pipe The longer fence has soil packed half way up the wall The 130-ft long fence is 6 ft high in the center trailing to 3 ft high at the edges The 4-ft tall inlet standpipe that feeds directly into the tile line is about a foot inside the fence I used the long fence on this field because my neighbor didn’t want a large berm extending into the field creating a big bend in his rows Soil around both basins was seeded to deep rooting grasses and wildflowers and will be sprayed to kill noxious weeds Other farmers in the area have used corrugated steel from old grain bins to line catch basins or pack the downside of the basins with large rocks to prevent erosion Tile contractors say if you’re building a wood fence it’s a good idea to leave a small opening about 8 in high and a foot wide near the top of the fence and 20 ft from each end to allow overflow Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Lorn Manthey 28280 Holyoke Ct Northfield Minn 55047 ph 612 986-5570; redoakridge@mac com

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