#farm security

Table of Contents Why hiring the right farm workers matters more than most farmers realize Step 1 — Define the role before you advertise it Step 2 — Where to find good farm workers Step 3 — How to screen applicants effectively Step 4 — Conducting a practical farm interview Step 5 — Use a trial period before full employment Step 6 — Onboard new workers properly Types of problem workers and how to…

With the start of a new year, chicken producers have a blank canvas to fill with their dreams for their farms. Due to its dynamic nature and ongoing advancements, poultry farming encourages farmers to take on new challenges and make goals that will improve their flocks’ well-being in addition to increasing output. We’ll look at some resolutions in this blog post to help poultry producers have a…

Farm CCTV Security Cameras

One may not think so but security for agricultural environments and farms is extremely important. CCTV cameras help to safeguard farms and make sure daily operations continue to run smooth. This helps farms to deliver a safe quality product to consumers, while protecting equipment, animals, and the facilities from possible harm or misuse.

  CCTV cameras for Stables and Farms

  Intruder…

A fun video short from Minnesota Public Radio about one farmer using guard llamas to protect his livestock. We know that three minutes is a lot of time to give a random YouTube video, but we highly recommend.  That said, if you need to get your guard llama fix fast, here's a nice vid of a llama chasing away a farm dog who gets a bit too close to a young calf.

Llamas have a long history of protecting livestock from predators. Traditionally gelded male was used, but more recently the shift has been towards single, unbred females. National Geographic ran a great piece about them back in 2003:

On the edges of a sheep farm, a coyote lurks, licking his chops. Suddenly, the sheep's guardian lets out a strange cry that sounds like a rusty hinge and charges the fence. What's this fleecy shepherd raising the alarm? A llama, better known as a pack animal and source of meat and wool in the Andes and plains of southern South America.

"Any place where a coyote could come in, people are starting to use llamas," said William Franklin, professor emeritus at Iowa State University. This method of protecting sheep seems to have a wide appeal as a non-lethal way to ward off predators. "It makes the wildlife biologists happy because it's a balance of nature," he said.

Franklin has surveyed ranchers using llamas to protect sheep, and found that llamas seem to be earning their keep. More than half of the llama owners he contacted reported 100 percent reduction in their predator losses after employing the animal as a guard. 

A rash of farm crimes in the past year has seen farmers scrambling to find new ways to keep thieves away from their farm and holdings. Farms make attractive targets for burglars: they're remote, stocked with valuable commoities from farm equipment to livestock, and often not secured well. From a write-up by Amy Canfield in Security Director News: 

"I've seen a $200,000 piece of equipment locked up with a $3 padlock," said David Hodgeboom, homeland security coordinator for the Washington State Department of Agriculture. The state has a $46 billion agriculture industry with 39,000 farms, and Hodgeboom works with owners to secure their assets.

There are no national statistics on farm crimes, but those interviewed and other reports show that it is on the rise throughout the country. Farms are an easy crime target, said Micah Carlson, director of marketing for Dakota Security Systems, which is based in South Dakota. The number of family farms has dwindled, resulting in larger enterprises that have huge amounts of inventory and numerous buildings, Carlson told Security Director News.

"They're out in the middle of nowhere without a lot of first responders in the area," he said. Organized groups often stake them out on Google Earth "and then wreak havoc with theft and vandalism."

Especially hard hit has been Missouri:

Missouri's 108,000 farms have lost timber, cattle, copper, hay and more to thieves, Linneman said. Since his unit was established in 2009, it has closed 942 rural crime cases and recovered more than $5.9 million in property.

All of which has led to farms both large and small putting in the type of security you'd more likely find in a bank vault:

Dakota Security recently replaced the analog surveillance system at a large farm in Central South Dakota with an IP system. It consists of two high-definition indoor dome cameras and 12 high-definition exterior dome cameras, all connected to a network video recorder. Seven of the exterior cameras are connected by a wireless mesh network. The system allows the owner to monitor buildings, equipment and operations from anywhere with Internet or cellular service.

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