Farm and Field Fence Cost for Acreage in Southeast Georgia

Fencing acreage is a different game than fencing a back yard. The per foot cost is WAY cheaper. The dollar amount is WAY bigger. The cost drivers are different than a residential quote.

So when you're talking 20 acres in McIntosh County or maybe a few hundred feet of road frontage in Camden, here's what's going on with the money.

Scale changes everything

For instance a quarter-acre back yard probably means 200 feet of fencing. A 10 acre square is about 2,650 feet around. A 40 acre square is about 5,280 feet or a mile.

So field fence prices what it does because long, straight stretches are very efficient. Put a corner, brace it, run some wire. It's cheap per foot compared to residential. But there's a lot. A lot. That's why.

The working ranges

So, some guesstimate installed costs for farm fencing around here:

• Woven wire / field fence: Your livestock and property border workhorse $6-15 /footish
• Barbed wire, 3-5 strand $4-10 / footish Cattle and boundary identification.
• High-tensile wire: $5-12 / footish Less posts, longer stretches, good tension.
• Board or vinyl ranch rail: $15-35 / footish Road-front and horse paddocks. Where you need to make it look like something.
• Welded wire with a top rail: More $$$ on small enclosures, mixed stock...

These are guesstimate numbers, for planning. And there's a range within each. Long clean stretches at the low end, short, broken, wooded or wet lines at the high end.

What actually drives the cost

Corners and ends, not the middle

This is the big surprise. Running a line of wire straight is dirt cheap. Every bend, every end, every direction change you need a braced assembly. Usually H-brace or double H-brace. Oversized posts deeply set and cross members to hold the stretched wire tension.

Well a braced assembly is many times the cost of the same few feet straight line of fence. Now if your field is a rectangle with four corners then you're efficient. If your parcel has funny borders and multiple gates and a dog leg around a wetland... quote on same acreage is very different.

So if you can vary the line at all save yourself some real money by straightening it out.

Clearing the line

No way you can thread wire through scrub. Around here we generally need to clear a path (generally 10-15') before you can even think of putting in a post.

When you are running a fence in planted pine, or palmetto scrub or other heavy undergrowth the clearing may be just as much as (or more than) the fence. It costs more to clear hardwood and big stumps than pine. It costs more to clear wet ground than dry. And then again, depends if you burn it, chip it, pile it, remove it, etc.

Its own line of work. We discuss it on our land clearing page. If it's an overgrown fence line price it out separately. Don't make the mistake of thinking it's all going to be covered in it.

Terrain and water

Southeast Georgia is flat... so very helpful. It's not dry though.

Low areas, seasonal moisture areas, ditches and stream crossings... it all makes a fence a pain. When your wire goes over a ditch you have to provide floodgate or a water gap that will hold up to the high water and not rip out with each storm. Your posts are handled differently when they are in saturated ground vs. dry sand.

If anywhere along your line is near tidal marsh... pause and check before you clear and build. Georgia protects the coastal marsh areas. What you do around there might require state review beyond what county may require. The edge of where you can do things isn't the obvious edge of the grass.

Access

Can you get to the entire length with equipment? Using a post driver on the back of your tractor is really quick for a fence. But don't try walking half a mile in the woods with posts and a hand auger. Always the costly item of a big job is landlocked back borders.

Gates

Farm gates are a bargain compared to residential gates. Tube gate = cheap. It's the posts and braces on either side. They're the ones that support the swing. Support the wire tension. Put gates where you really need access to equipment. Size them for the biggest piece you'll likely ever get through. 12' is often regretted. Sixteen is seldom.

Posts

So, the usual here are the pressure treated pine posts. What is more important than anything is the rating of treatment. Always ground contact. In our sandy, wet soils if you use an under-rated post you cut a decade off it.

The spacing will be different on the field fence than residential. Usually 8 to 12' for line posts. Sometimes more on high tensile. Especially if you have stays in between. More spacing is cheaper and is correct for wire. Incorrect for a solid fence.

Corner and brace posts are another story. Larger diameter. Much deeper placement. Every penny worth it.

What the coast does to farm fence

The salt gets further inland than you think on a windy day. Galvanized is standard. Coating class matters. Heavier galvanizing class is more expensive and lasts much longer here. Class 3 galv is a good choice for near the coast as a default.

Same with staples, clips, gate hardware. It's usually not the wire that gives out first. It's the fasteners.

Tree risk (other risk) is June to November hurricane season. You're going to hit a limb down sooner or later if you're fencing under mature pines or live oaks along a line. Better to have a truly wide clear corridor than pay to fix it repeatedly. We talk about repair work here on our fence repairs page.

Before you build

Where's the line? On rural property, existing fences, tree lines and "what the neighbor always said" are not necessarily your boundaries. A current survey is cheap in comparison to moving a mile of fence.

Find out what your county's rules are. Agricultural fences often have different rules than residential. (But "often" does not mean "always".) Confirm with Glynn County Community Development (or your county's version thereof). Our guide to fence permits in Glynn County will give you the general idea.

Call Georgia 811 before you dig (even if you're in the middle of a field.) Gas transmission and utility lines constantly intersect rural property.

Getting a number

When you are quoting acreages you need someone to run the line. Corners, wet areas, clearings, access. It's these things that determine the price. None of which are seen on a map.

We put up acreage fencing throughout Glynn, McIntosh, Camden counties, etc. Check out our field fencing page. Or check out our McIntosh County service area page.

Call or Get a free quote, (912) 674-0619. We'll run the line with you.