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Callao, Missouri | I've kind of been on both sides of this.
1. He should of talked with you first. Thats undeniable.
"Here" you own 1/2 the fence, and the other owner has the other half. Normally it is whichever is your right side. So maintaining the fence should fall on both parties. It rarely works that way though because one owner normally does not want to put forth the effort or the money.
I can't help but wonder what condition the fence was in if he voluntarily rolled it up and replaced it at his cost? Even though electric is cheaper to build, it's still a big expense.
I also wonder if he thought that you would not mind what type of fence was there as long as it was being maintained? Perhaps he does not have the narrow minded attitude about what type of fence is best, but rather is just looking for the least pain/cost solution.
What I'm going to comment on next is not aimed at you, personally.
I am tired of fencing the entire countryside for old or absent neighbors who can't identify with the law that the fence is ours equally to maintain. This problem started with the CRP program, because once CRP took root in my neighbors fields, they haven't been back to cut sprouts, maintain the fences, control weeds, etc. To make matters worse they then lease the ground out to hunters that often cut the fence and trespass.
We could spend our entire work year fixing old fence but at the end of the year there would still be a perimeter of old crappy fence. We could also send out bills for work on their half but I'm sure that wouldn't go over well for neighborhood relations. We sometimes string electric wire alongside the old fence, but that often just shorts out on the brush or gets entangled into the old wire, thereby shorting our whole system out. The best solution is to get rid of the old, and build new.
I agree that a steel post does not belong in an electric fence. There are much better alternatives to planting ground rods every 30ft.
The more I think about your post, the more I wonder why you are so concerned about this? The property line did not change because he is still using the wood posts. If I read correctly, you don't need the fence anyway because it's on your CRP. He is maintaining it, and you haven't had to do a thing. The neighbor feels that the new fence will do a better job, but you don't agree? I doubt he's out there working just to tick you off.
What would I do? I'd go tell him that I was not happy that he did not ask me before replacing the wire. I would also make it clear that if the fence did not work to keep the livestock on each respective side, there would be barbed on there again to my standards.
Lastly, I'd thank him for trying to keep his stock on his side and offer to help with the cost of the wire he put up. It is my fence, afterall.
Scott
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What would you do?
