The short answer
Start at the entrances: a number-plate camera on the yard gate and a camera on every other way in. Then cover fuel, machinery and stock. Fewer, better cameras in the right places beat a dozen pointing at nothing. Keep the recorder locked away, and get clips to your phone.
Where the cameras go
Every way in.
The yard gate first, with a camera built to read number plates. Then field gates onto lanes, and any track a vehicle could use.
What's worth stealing.
Fuel tanks, the machinery shed, the quad and the workshop. Thieves know where these are; your cameras should too.
Stock and buildings.
Calving pens, the parlour, the lambing shed: cameras earn their keep here for welfare as much as security.
Mount cameras high enough to be out of reach, but low enough to see a face under a cap. Ten feet up beats thirty.
What makes a camera worth having
- A picture that works at night. Infrared, or a camera that sees colour in low light, with a security light where it helps.
- Smart detection. Modern cameras tell a person, a vehicle and an animal apart, so your phone buzzes for a van at 3am and not for every fox.
- Number-plate reading at the gate. A separate camera designed for it. General cameras can't read plates reliably at night or at speed.
- Recording the thief can't take. The recorder locked away, and the important clips copied to the cloud, so pulling a camera off the wall doesn't take the evidence with it.
The law, in plain English
If your cameras only see your own property, you have few obligations. If they see a public road, a footpath or a neighbour's land, or you're recording for a business, data protection law applies: you need a good reason, signs saying cameras are in use, footage kept no longer than you need it, and a way to give someone their footage if they ask.
None of that is hard. Daniel gives every CCTV customer a one-page note and the signs, and points cameras away from places they shouldn't see. It's practical help, not legal advice; the Information Commissioner's Office has a fuller guide.
The bits people forget
- The landline switch-off. Alarms that dial out on the old phone line need moving to 4G or broadband. See the landline guide.
- Power cuts. A battery keeps the recorder and cameras going when the power goes, which thieves sometimes arrange.
- Security of the cameras themselves. Change the default passwords, keep the firmware up to date, and never open them to the internet directly.
Questions people ask
How much does farm CCTV cost?
A four-camera system, properly fitted, is a fixed labour price on the prices page plus the kit, which usually runs to several hundred pounds or more depending on the cameras. A number-plate camera on the gate is extra.
Do I need Wi-Fi at the cameras?
Better not. Cameras on a cable, with power over the same cable, are far more reliable than Wi-Fi cameras. Where a cable can't reach, a wireless link carries it.
How long should I keep footage?
As long as you need it and no longer. A month is common; your insurer may have a view.
Checked October 2026.