Rural Security

Why are farms being targeted?

The remote location of farms and the challenges of securing high-value assets such as machinery, fuel, and livestock make them easy targets for criminal gangs.

Hannah Binns, rural affairs specialist at NFU Mutual, says, “Intelligence shows thieves frequently target several farms in one night before moving locations to steal these highly valuable and portable kits, often revisiting farmyards weeks later to steal any replacements.”

The true cost to farmers

Rural crimes cost UK farming £53m in 2023, an increase of 4.3% compared to 2022, and as we look at the stats from the NFU Mutual Crime Report 2024, the figures look even more concerning:

• GPS Theft cost estimated to be £4.2m
• Quad and ATV theft cost estimated at £3.2m
• Agricultural vehicle theft cost estimated at £10.7m
• Livestock theft cost estimated to be £2.7m

If we look beyond the headline figures and start to comprehend the knock-on effects of these crimes, we better understand the true picture.

A farm runs to a tight and precise schedule. Theft of fuel, machinery, or livestock disrupts crop timelines, leading to delays in planting, harvesting, and other crucial operations. This disruption affects productivity and increases labour costs as farmers scramble to compensate for the missing equipment. Additionally, theft can have long-term financial repercussions, such as higher insurance premiums due to increased risk exposure. Ultimately, the true cost of theft encompasses not just the value of stolen items but also the broader impact on farm operations and finances.

We can emphasise this loss by looking at two specific areas, GPS and livestock theft.

GPS Theft

A 137% increase in GPS theft is startling enough, especially considering the cost to replace each unit is approximately £10,000, but there is a greater impact on farmers. Without the GPS, farmers and agricultural contractors can face severe delays and disruption to harvesting and cultivating work.

Farmers report that livestock crimes are among the most upsetting and hardest to calculate losses for. Livestock theft leads to the loss of important breeding lines and worries about the welfare and treatment of stock.

The other disturbing issue that is raised by GPS theft is the fear that it will happen again; the evidence suggests that once a farm has been hit by a gang, it is likely that they will revisit it weeks later to steal the replacements.

The fear created is perfectly described by Hannah Binns, rural affairs specialist at NFU Mutual: “Being from a family farm, I know first-hand that the impact of rural crime goes well beyond the practicalities of farming. It’s the unnerving feeling that criminals have boldly staked out and targeted farmyards and fields, often a few feet from the family home.

It’s also living in fear of repeat attacks, knowing that thieves are always looking for new ways to target rural communities.’’

Livestock Theft

An example is the upsetting case of County Durham sheep farmer Neil Fell.

Mr Fell had sheep worth £18,000 stolen from his farm on the day of his father’s funeral. Thieves drove a lorry into his field and stole sheep in the value of £18,000. However, he believes that the cost to him is much higher. He had to buy more lambs and breeding ewes to replace the sheep stolen from his 800-head flock. He calculates that his actual loss is closer to £35,000, as he would have reared the lambs to sell.

“This hit my cash flow, and I have a wife and two children to support,” said Mr Fell. The theft was reported to police, but inquiries have been drawn a blank.

Once you have an idea of your farm’s vulnerabilities, Secured by Design, an official Police security initiative, identifies three key principles to protect your farm.

• Deter
• Delay
• Detect

Deter

The simple principle behind ‘deter’ is to instigate simple changes that will make it harder for criminals to steal from you. This means they are more likely to target an easier target than your farm. Some simple solutions you can do are:

Lock your assets away

A simple and cost-effective solution is to ensure that high value items like tractors, quadbikes, fuel tanks, and high value tools are locked in secure buildings. While it is harder to lock away livestock, you can ensure they are kept away from roads and behind strong and secure gates.

The YG80B gate and roller door lock from BQT offers a holding force of 4,000 kg, delivering top-tier security for openings that require maximum protection, even in extreme weather conditions. It’s a versatile solution commonly used on overhead doors, roller doors, gates, and trucks.

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Good security lighting

Thieves like to work under the cover of darkness, so strategically placing Illuminators from a reputable manufacturer like GJD around the property, which will turn on when an intruder is detected, means that a thief or gang is less likely to come onto your property.

Security

The simple presence of security cameras on a property will often act as enough of a deterrent to stop potential criminals from progressing too far onto your land. Security cameras are also key to the detection of criminals.

CCTV Monitoring

There are companies, that provide monitored CCTV. This means that once an intruder has been detected, a real person will instantly activate a speaker and let the criminal know that they have been detected and that police are on the way.

If a paid monitoring service is beyond your budget, cheaper alternatives like the Multispeech from GJD are also available. The Multispeech has four channels that can play one of four different 30-second messages, which again will let the intruder know they have been detected.

Display a vehicles identification number

Have the Vehicle Identification Number etched on the windows. This makes the vehicle more detectable and less appealing to thieves because they have to grind out the numbers.

Delay

If you have failed to deter a determined criminal, you want to delay their efforts to steal from you. This means there is time for you or the authorities to get to them before too much is stolen.

Gates

Restrict access to your farm with locked and secure gates fixed to a concrete post.

Fencing, hedges and ditches

Maintaining strong fences, high hedges, and deep ditches makes it harder for intruders to get onto your land.

Strong locks

Securing your vehicles to a fixed point in the ground will delay any theft. If you have quad bikes, you can use bespoke security devices, such as Quadvice, or an electronic locking solution, like the YG80B, designed to secure any overhead door, gate or large opening.

Detect

For the delay measures to work, intruders must be detected immediately when they attempt to break into your farm or steal from your property.

Security Cameras

While acting as a strong deterrent to criminals or gangs from targeting your farm, they are also vital for detecting intruders and alerting you and the authorities.

Perimeter Protection

Every guide you read online will point toward security cameras as vital to your farm protection. However, they do have limitations - they require power and communications to function meaning they are often based near to sources of both, namely properties. If they do then detect a presence, that presence is already on your property leaving little time for the authorities or you to respond, which puts both your safety and assets at risk..

GJD, therefore, recommends having a strong and robust perimeter protection system that utilises wireless technology to place detectors around the perimeter of your land. This means you are given advance notice of intruders before they get close to valuable property or assets.

Suggested Security Products

The list below includes some recommendations of products available on the market to protect your farm.

LX Lora Connect

• Long range wireless connectivity. Traditional security networks often rely on Wi-Fi or cellular connectivity, both of which can be unreliable in remote areas. LX LoRa Connect operates on a low-power, long-range wireless network, meaning it can function even in areas with no internet or mobile coverage and has a range of 6-miles, therefore suitable to most farms. This network can connect speech enunciators, detectors, illuminators, and cameras.
• Energy-Efficient and Low Maintenance. Unlike Wi-Fi or cellular networks, which require high power consumption, LX LoRa Connect is designed to work with battery-powered or solar-powered devices, ensuring security solutions can be deployed even in off-grid locations.
• Cost-Effective and Scalable. Historically, securing an entire farm required expensive trenching and cabling to connect all security points. LX LoRa Connect eliminates this cost barrier, allowing farmers to deploy and scale their security without disrupting their operations.
• Integrated Smart Security Ecosystem. LX LoRa Connect is more than just a security system—it is a smart farm management tool. In addition to securing perimeters and detecting intruders, the system can: monitor temperature fluctuations in storage facilities for livestock and produce; automatically open and close electric gates, reducing the need for manual operation; control security lighting based on detected movement, improving energy efficiency.

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Security Cameras

Many brands produce high-quality security cameras that can be used on your farms. One such range is the HeatPro range from Hikvision, boasting perimeter protection with unparalleled accuracy and fire prevention. Featuring deep-learning video analytics in all weather and light conditions, these cameras hit the target in both cost and performance for farms and other rural facilities.

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Illuminators

White light LED illuminators are a visible deterrent to intruders, letting them know they have been discovered. The GJD range provides class-leading performance, low maintenance, and a projected working life in excess of 10 years. The illuminators come with an interchangeable lens diffuser, which means the length and angle of the beam can be altered to meet your specific requirements.

Infrared

Away from the bright lights of the main farmyard, infrared illuminators work with CCTV in those dark areas to improve the quality and range of the imagery they provide at night.

GJD’s range of infrared illuminators comes with a five-year warranty and has been used on programs such as Countryfile and Winter Watch to provide high-quality nighttime imagery.

Detectors

There are two core types of detectors: wired and wireless. On the farm, GJD recommends a wireless detector like our D-TECT X. It can be positioned further away from the farm buildings to protect the perimeter or livestock.

The GJD detectors use a two-beam method that detects motion and heat, allowing them to distinguish when a human is in the beam as opposed to the farm’s livestock. Detectors will inform you when an intruder is on your land before they get near key infrastructure, allowing you to contact the police.

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Speech Enunciators

Speech enunciators will play a recorded message to inform the intruder that they have been detected and encourage them to leave the farm before anything is stolen or damaged.

GJD recommends our Multispeech Kit, a four-channel speech enunciator module that includes an 8ohm Hornspeaker designed for intruder monitoring, access control, welcoming, advising, or warning. Each of the four channels can record a different 30-second message, or alternatively, one single message of 120 seconds long can be recorded.

Electronic Locking Solutions

The YG80B is a unique electronic locking solution designed to secure any overhead door, gate or large opening. Able to be integrated into an access control system or operate completely stand alone with inbuilt Bluetooth control. Made for any climate and robust enough to withstand all environments, the YG80B can be utilized in places most electronic locks can’t and provides unparalleled security and convenience.

See https://www.gjd.co.uk for more information.

Is all of your equipment registered on your policy?

At the time of renewal, how much time do you spend making sure that any new equipment has been added to your policy? And have you correctly assessed the market value of your property?

Will the insurer pay out what you are expecting?

Sometimes, the things we own are more valuable to us than their monetary value suggests. Farm equipment can often fall into this category, but this can be a problem regarding insurance.

Insurers often pay out the market value of the equipment they are using, which takes into account depreciation, an agreed-upon amount, or a limit specified in the policy schedule. Some policies might cover the cost of a new replacement, but these are often rare.

This can create a problem in that unless you can find a good second-hand replacement, you might have an essential piece of equipment you can’t afford to replace. Of course, this will have serious business and livelihood implications.

The dangers of underinsurance

Aviva predicts that 50% of businesses are underinsured, meaning they have not accurately detailed their business costs and needs to the insurer. This is easily done, with many companies renewing with their broker and not thinking about how inflation, labour cost, and valuation of your assets have changed and will renew without looking at it. The problem is that in this case, it means that when the time comes to make a claim, the insurer may not pay out all of the costs, or worse, any of the costs incurred. Aviva says their data show that a claim exceeding £10,000 in value would end one in ten small businesses.

Have you taken reasonable steps to protect your property?

Your insurance provider may have included clauses in your policy stating that you took reasonable steps to protect and safeguard your assets, such as equipment, livestock, or fuel, as a business. Always make sure you read the small print and know your responsibilities.

Insurance won’t take into account the down time

An insurance claim takes time, during that period how much working time is lost? Do you have contracts you have to fulfil, do they come with penalties? There are a lot of knock on effects from a break-in that your insurance won’t take account of.

Insurance will never consider the emotional impact of a break-in

One of the things that insurance and statistics can’t truly convey is the emotional impact that is felt by farmers who have been victims of these gangs, as highlighted by NFU Vice President Rachel Hallos, “Not only does rural crime significantly cost the UK on a national level, but it also has a significant impact personally to those farm businesses and farming families financially and emotionally, leaving many rural communities feeling vulnerable and intimidated.”

While insurance is designed to support you, it is far better for you to prevent a crime rather than try to recoup losses afterward. Therefore, ensuring that you have the right security in place is advisable and the more cost-effective solution.