Running a farm is hard work; planting the crop, irrigating the field and harvesting are energy consuming tasks that require a tremendous amount of patience and dedication. The resulting yield you get at the end almost always makes the year-long effort worth it.
However, certain situations can bring trouble that potentially ruins the hard work you’ve put in. Farms are particularly prone to trespassers whose intentions may be malicious or innocent. Either way, prevention is better than cure, and the following tips will help you keep your farm secure against trespassers.
- Signs And Boundaries
Most trespassers who stumble into farms are hikers who are passing through. They may not have any wish to damage your property, but marking out your farmland with a fence and signs warning trespassers to keep out will go a long way in making sure that nobody finds themselves on your farm, even by accident. Doing only one or the other is not always enough, since signs alone may not always be heeded and fences alone can be crossed if action is not expected. If you do not wish to go as far as installing a barbed wire fence around the perimeter, you can always plant hedges instead. Be sure to opt for this only if you’re confident that the only trespassers you’re visited by are harmless.
- Alarm System
A loud alarm can attract a lot of attention to your farm, and is sometimes enough to startle petty criminals. Having an alarm button on you at all times (or on your workers) is a great way of calling for help the second an intruder is spotted on your farm. In most cases, the alarm will either scare off intruders or attract people who can help you immediately.
- Guard Dog
Guard dogs are extremely helpful on farms. When well trained, they can do a lot of tasks like round up the sheep, keep other animals in their own space and ward off potential Intruders. The loud bark of a dog serves two purposes; scaring away intruders as well as alerting you, the owner, to their presence. Besides, they even do other small but helpful things like hunting rats and other pests that could ruin your crop. Be warned that farm dogs are specially trained for the job they’re expected to do, and untrained dogs cannot be farm dogs.
- Motion Sensors And Security Cameras
Having motion sensors and integrating them into your existing security system will go a long way in keeping you alerted to the presence of intruders on your farm. Many farmers like to pair motion sensors with either a silent or loud alarm, based on their preferences (a loud alarm may scare off intruders, while a silent alarm will be better if you are looking to have the intruder caught red-handed). Security cameras can also be helpful if a crime has happened on your farm and you need to submit evidence.
- Lock Your Vehicles
No matter how much you take precautions to ensure that trespassers keep out of your property, there is every chance that a few might find their way in. Your vehicle might be the most expensive item on your farm, and it’s best to make sure no harm comes to it. Put a lock on the wheels of your vehicle to make sure it can’t be moved, but if possible, try to keep it and other farming equipment like tillers in a securely locked space like a shed or garage. That way, it will be difficult to vandalize the vehicle in case of trespassers with malicious intent, like protesters.
These are not the only safety precautions you can follow to keep your farm safe. Talk to a trusted security agency that specializes in farm security to know all the options you have and decide on which one suits you the best. The basics will help you immensely, but your farm is still vulnerable, and you will need to take extra care to ensure that the growth of your crop is not disrupted.
