subject: Web Based Ranch Mapping Applications [print this page] costMyFence.com allows land owners to map, measure and plan their fencing online. Users can quickly produce good quality working plans and estimates of fences they are thinking of installing without the use of GPS or specialized mapping companies.
Drawing accurate fence measurements such as fence length, estimating materials required is a time consuming business and if badly done can result in overspend.
The website is cool to use and is free, allows land owners to pick from a range of livestock they want to fence such as cattle.
Once mapped the site allows you to print estimates showing both physical layout and calculations of length, spacing and cost. The versatility of the tool allows for the making of plans and measurements on the fly for incorporation into planning, budgeting and other documents.
we have used this package to plan a variety of fences. There is good online support in the form of YouTube clips for each step of making a fence plan. There is no need to Login, you simply enter your country, area and postal code or zip if you have one, locate the land you need to fence and then select from a range of features you want to map. Basically you draw your electrical fence line on screen using the satellite image provided. You locate the fence line on the image and then plot along the line to map it. There is no limit to the number of fences and the site has some great examples of some beautiful estimates made by people from around the world.
When you have completed your fence plan you can then print it. The estimate is accurate and provides land measurements for the map. Fence estimates are laid out in scale with grid lines clearly laid out. A table shows all the material you will need including poles, line post and wire.
The printed fence estimates are nicely laid out. A neat feature allows the user to have the plan sent to your email address.
Measurements I made on the site were extremely accurate. I mapped out a number of features of different area and length and found it to be more accurate than GPS measurements I have made on my land. A looked at a number of articles on the web and found that someone has actually used google measurements to measure and compare famous landmarks around the world and found the site to produce maps of these over 99% accurate.
The advantage of using this form of planning program is convenience and cost. You can make a good plan from your computer in 10 minutes. Making a similar estimate with GPS or manually would take a lot longer. Not only this but you can print your fencing plan immediately.
There are many uses for this website. costMyFence.com is easy, cost effective and above all accurate. From producers in developing countries that have no readily available maps to the large agri businesses of the West this fencing application will be welcome by all.
