Keeping a watchful eye on bins, trucks, crops and livestock around the clock doesn’t have to be expensive or highly complicated to be effective.

Brandon-based Allen Leigh Security markets closed-circuit video surveillance equipment such as the CowCam, shown here. (Allen Leigh Security photo)

A complete farm monitoring and video recording set up of four high-range, remote-controlled cameras and digital video recorder can cost less than $2,500.

Chris Sobchuk, president of Allen Leigh Security at Brandon, Man., says video surveillance has moved beyond barn and calving management to full on-farm monitoring.

“As prices of crop inputs run up and fuel costs increase, so do thefts,” Sobchuk says. Fertilizer theft is not only costly, it could also be dangerous, as the product can be used in the making of bombs -- an unlikely but all too real possibility.

Available high-quality cameras have full pan, tilt and zoom capabilities and capture an image as far as 150 feet away with enough clarity to identify a person’s face.

Sobchuk’s company sells full video monitoring systems and driveway alarms that sense vehicles only, avoiding false alarms tripped by wildlife. Systems can be fully wireless, controlled remotely and come out of the box ready to be mounted. All monitoring device simply plug into the wall.