CCTV system – cattle farm – Ayrshire

Project summary

Highlander were approached by a local cattle farm, based in Ayrshire, because the owners wanted to make changes on their site, including installing an effective CCTV system. The aim was to ensure the safety and security of their cattle, especially during calving season, when they are at their most vulnerable.

During calving and lambing periods, farmers must keep a close eye on the animals all day and also make regular trips to the sheds throughout the night to see if any of the animals need assistance.

The issue here was that the owners’ house is located a considerable distance from the cattle sheds, so manual checks take time, and activity that could indicate distress, such as noise, may not be heard.

The owners required a secure solution to monitor activity at the cattle sheds safely from their home. However, most farmyards don’t have a fast enough internet connection or a strong enough 4G signal to stream video, which meant that getting the video feed from the yard to the owners’ home was an issue that needed to be overcome.

There are often periods, due to the nature of running a farm, when certain areas are left exposed throughout the daily routines, and so having the facility to monitor access points to the farm were also discussed as a priority.

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The solution

After consultation on the requirements of the installation, we proposed to fit a HD CCTV camera solution, complete with fully functional PTZ cameras (pan, tilt and zoom) to cover the perimeter and inside the sheds.

The HD solution allows the owners to get a clear view of their cattle 24/7 and the pan, tilt and zoom means they can look around the space from the comfort of their home. Using this state-of-the-art security technology, we were able to offer a near total view on the cattle inside and outside of the sheds.

During the process we had to respond to the challenge of the site having no available broadband connection. As we developed a solution, we were able to install a 4G broadband network solution to provide remote access to the cameras. A huge benefit of this was that the owners are now able to view and move the cameras via their smart device from the comfort of their own home.

In turn, this allowed the owners to always monitor the security of their site and ensure the welfare of their cattle.

The CCTV cameras that were installed also come with integral microphones built in. This gives the farmer greater freedom and flexibility, allowing the herd to be seen and heard without the farmer being physically present. The sound facility is particularly important as it aids the farmer in deciding whether a cow is well or not.

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The outcome

The system took our installation team two days to complete the works and then the final commissioning and handover to the client was carried out on the third day. The system will now offer peace of mind to the client and help to run day to day activities and tasks on the farm more efficiently.