I was recently on a train back to Amsterdam with a colleague from North America. When we approached the western provinces, Utrecht and North Holland – the ones that are under sea level – I pointed out to her the green fields with livestock in them and said what don’t you see?
See those fields and most of the land in the provinces under the sea is reclaimed. They have drainage ditches around them to keep the water levels down, basically off the fields. Great things these ditches, full of water for the previously mentioned livestock and can serve as irrigation ditches if it ever doesn’t rain here.
But they also serve as natural barriers. The Dutch don’t need to fence their fields, they typically have one fence at the bridging dyke but that’s it.
That means that you have open vistas of green fields with cows, sheep, horses etc. grazing. That means that animals don’t get caught on barbed wire, it means that farmers don’t have to spend a fortune keeping fences maintained and that psychologically people in this part of the country don’t grow up surrounded by fences.
Granted most of North and South Holland could fit into Montana’s back pocket, and there are fences around houses (to keep said cows out of your garden flowers) but I think it is typical of the Dutch, using natural means to be efficient and economical and keeping a great vista.