Gates are one of thee most important aspects of a farm. No matter what way you look at, they almost act as the glue which holds your full farmyard together; they control what comes in and goes out of the place and keep everything important where it belongs. Their appearance can even increase the appeal of your farm, leading to better all-round reviews. That’s why it’s so important that you have a good, reliable and attractive farm gate- but which ones are best? Should you opt for the old fashioned non-electric versions, or mix things up and invest in an automatic farm gate? Don’t worry, we’re here to tell you just what kind of farm gate is best for you.
You can check out more about farm gates and look at different ones to have installed at bumpndrive.com.
So what makes farm gates so important in the first place? Well first of all, they provide you with a great deal of privacy. This is very important when you’re living on a farm; you’re often surrounded by busy country roads and you don’t want too many unwanted visitors strolling around your home and workplace too often. If they are locked securely when you want them to be, farm gates can provide great screening against any rival farmers who may be looking to steal some of your ideas or methods.
They also offer good protection against thieves and any dangerous animals. There isn’t anything worse than working hard all day just to see some petty thieves steal your stock, so gates usually act as the first line of defence against these low-lifes. They also prevent any predatory animals from getting onto your land, which is brilliant at protecting your livestock from harm and keeping them ripe for whatever job they perform.
They also help keep your animals in. It’s always a pain for drivers when a road is blocked by a flock of sheep which has escaped a farm, so a good gate will prevent this from happening. It also means you’ll be much less likely to lose any of your precious animals to the wilderness.
A good gate will also increase the overall presentation of your farm. If it is kept well looked after and works properly, it’ll look appealing to drivers and walkers who pass by and word will spread of your high-quality farm. This will make people more likely to buy your products, which can only be a good thing.
So we all know farm gates are a good thing. The real question is, however, what kind is best?
We’ll start with automatic farm gates. There a lot of positives to purchasing these, and as with most things there are a few negatives too. In general, however, a great benefit to having an automatic gate is that you won’t have to get out your vehicle for it to open. Whether it has motion sensors or is controlled by someone behind the scenes who’s in charge of security, you shouldn’t have to leave the comfort of whatever you’re driving to open it. This is especially helpful during bad weather conditions when you’re in a rush to get somewhere, or when you simply can’t be bothered getting up from your seat.
These gates will also be held open as you drive through. We’ve all had that fright where a manual gate starts to close on us before we’ve even fully drove through it, and we’ve missed out on scratching our cars by inches. Luckily, with automatic farm gates at your disposal, you’d no longer have to worry about this. They’re programmed to wait until you’re well clear before they close over, meaning you can relax and drive towards or away from your farm safe in the knowledge that both your farm and vehicle are intact.
These automatic gates also tend to have a more sleek, modern look. As we mentioned previously, the appearance of your farm gate can greatly increase your popularity in the community and therefore your sales. That’s why electronic gates have become so popular; they do the job and look the part as well. They’re also more likely to be very durable, which may not be the case with non-electric gates. They will last longer without being damaged by weather or other factors, making them a worthwhile investment.
Automatic gates could also have size sensors to determine what they will open automatically for. This would mean they can be programmed to work for vehicles only, reducing the chances of your livestock escaping and keeping them where they belong- in your farm.
That’s a lot of benefits for automatic farm gates. So why invest in non-electric gates at all? Don’t worry, there are still a lot of reasons for sticking to the old fashioned ways with a manual entrance.
As we discussed above, some automatic gates could have sensors to allow vehicles through and nothing else. However, this can prove to be a bit of a pain when you simply want to walk through your gate by yourself as it might not open at all. This could lead to you having to resort to climbing your own gate, which is always a hassle. Having a non-electric gate makes this a lot easier; you have to open the gate by yourself whether you’re driving or walking. There is no confusion about what size of being can get through, and it’s simply up to you to open and close it yourself.
Non-electric farm gates also provide the same protection as their automatic counterparts. Whilst not being as flashy and modern, they do the same job; keep what’s in your farm where it belongs, and keeping unwanted visitors out. You can’t really argue with this- they do the job they’re supposed to do. Their only problem is that it can be a bit of a pain to continually lock and unlock them manually, and you sometimes might forget. This can happen to the best of us, so make sure you always double check you’ve locked up properly.
Automatic and non-electric farm gates both have their pros and cons, but in general automatic gates are more worth investing in. As long as they’re installed correctly and know what to let in and what to not, they’ll provide great protection for your farm and save you the hassle of manually locking up all the time.
