Remote cameras on tanks and troughs save time, money and sanity
Chris Patmore farms in Eneabba in the northern wheatbelt of Western Australia (WA). He farms at five separate locations covering 10 000 hectares (ha), within four shires. The property is a 100% sheep operation comprising 4000 merino ewes, a Border Leiceister stud and a Poll Dorset stud. For the past five years, Chris has been using remote cameras positioned on water troughs to remotely monitor his stock water. Previously, he would need to drive 300–400 kilometres (km) every three days in summer to do a bore run and physically check each trough. This was expensive both in terms of labour and vehicle costs.
Remote cameras were installed at troughs where sheep had access to for water requirements. This allows Chris to regularly check the trough from home to ensure the supply and quality of water is good and there are no problems. The cameras can easily be shifted between star pickets when the sheep are shifted.
The cameras cost approximately $1500 each. Over a 10 year period, for every dollar invested in the remote cameras, there has been a saving of $5.30 in labour and vehicle costs. The payback period for the investment is two years.
For more information see the case study on the right side of the page.