Farm CCTV systems

Farms have very specific requirements when it comes to security. We understand the farm CCTV more than most having grown up in rural Lincolnshire and now being based on a farm in Buckinghamshire which we as our testbed for new products and to fine-tune existing equipment. One of the single biggest problems is the distances that cameras have to cover. Ignore advertised ranges, most CCTV cameras have a very short effect and in the case of wide-angle cameras shockingly so.

Gone are the days when you see a farmer leaning up against his fence, trousers held up with bailer twine casually chewing on some wheat. These days farms are multi-million-pound operations with machinery whose replacement cost runs into 6 or 7 figures. Fuel, fertilisers, livestock and tools are all potential targets for thieves. Diesel is routinely stolen by criminals illegally using it on the road. Even fertiliser has been stolen, at £300-400, a tonne the 60 bags stolen from a farm in Spalding were worth around £20,000. More recently there is a concern that high nitrogen content fertiliser finds uses outside farming to the point where the government has produced specific advice relating to fertiliser storage.

Feel free to contact us if you need help in putting together a CCTV system for your farm. There is no charge and you are under no obligation, we don't even need to visit the farm as we use internet mapping from which we can take accurate measurements.

We have some cameras particularly well suited to farms. Our IP POE range of cameras are scalable for all sizes of farm and can capture footage in up to 8MP or 4K and captures detail along a large part of the field of view. The worst camera you can use on a farm would be a wide-angle one because you wouldn't capture sufficient detail as you move away and yet we see lots of these fitted. We are always happy to offer specific advice if you're thinking of installing CCTV on your farm. We don't need to visit you, call us on the phone and we can discuss your specific needs whilst viewing the farm using internet mapping from which we can take the necessary measurements.

Vehicle number plates

Our HD 1080P CCTV systems allow you to film a wider area compared to standard definition CCTV and still identify people or vehicles. Alternatively, you can choose to have the cameras zoomed in more to achieve previously unavailable levels of detail capture. All our CCTV systems can be remotely monitored using a PC, Mac or mobile device such as your phone or tablet (iPad etc.). We have developed a specific ANPR camera that allows you to record vehicle number plate details during the day and at night when ordinary cameras bleach out the registration details or are affected by headlight glare.

Security

The most obvious use of CCTV on a farm is to provide security. Some people consider using PTZ cameras which have the ability to move around. In our experience, these are not usually the answer on a farm. They are much more expensive than fixed cameras unless you have a full-time CCTV operator who can only see one thing at a time. Fitting more fixed cameras for the same price is almost always a better solution. Again, give us a call and we can advise you.

Livestock monitoring

As well as protecting livestock from theft or malicious damage we regularly supply CCTV systems to farmers wanting to monitor livestock during calving or lambing. We also supply CCTV to the poultry industry for remote monitoring purposes. We even had one farmer successfully address a problem of egg theft from an honesty box. It sounds petty but being able to maintain that revenue stream rather than give in to the theft and close it down more paid for the system which also provided additional benefits.

Worker safety

Wide-angle cameras whilst not good for capturing high levels of detail can be used to monitor people at work. A farm has many potentially dangerous areas where workers are exposed to danger and CCTV may provide a solution to allow monitoring from a central point.

Wireless CCTV Cameras on Farms

In a word don't. The theory is great but in practice, the distances involved mean licence-free equipment rarely works as intended and you are massively limited when it comes to available cameras, particularly long-range external cameras. Whilst cable installation takes a little time you only need to do it once. Once again call us for advice, often it is possible to use longer-range cameras to reduce cable runs. It is also possible to use remote satellite DVR recorders to store footage locally. These can still be remotely accessed over the internet or a local network.

Good CCTV needn't be prohibitively expensive. All our prices are available in the Shop area of our website and unlike many suppliers, there are no ongoing costs once you have bought the equipment. Everything we sell comes with a 2-year guarantee and unlimited technical support.