I implemented a security upgrade to the farm this morning. I installed an outdoor video security system so I can remotely monitor the farm when I'm not around. The farm is not my primary residence.

I felt the need to add the video security for two main reasons:

1. Reports of an increased incidence of summer cottage break ins as people are spending less time in the countryside.
2. I stand to lose alot of invested money if there is damage or theft. This would be a business fault of my farming enterprise if I did not address the risk.

One way an asset-owning business can suffer catastrophic loss is not to secure their assets. Failure to protect those assets could be considered a business fault if their loss results in a major impairment to that business. See my discussion on the importance of avoiding business faults in my last blog. This is a relatively cheap way for me to help insure against potential theft or damage. Health insurance, proper legal documents, limited liability company structures are other measures we might take to insure against other forms of potentially catastrophic loss of income/investment.

The incremental cost of adding video security to the farm was $120, which is the before tax cost of a refurbished DCS-2330L D-Link Outdoor HD Wireless Network Camera. I purchased it at Walmart via their online site with free shipping to my post office box. I previously used all D-Link components to deliver internet connectivity through the farm so adding the camera to the system was not difficult. I just had to press the WPS buttons on the D-Link router and D-Link security camera to sync the camera to the farm network. I used 2 D-Link Powerline Adapters to create a hardwired route from my house where the router resides to my barn where the security camera is mounted overlooking the house and driveway entrance.

The house and barns run off the same power meter so I can use powerline adapters to deliver "hardwired" internet connectivity to every outbuilding. The security camera is not using wireless to deliver AV signals to the router as I found it easier to directly connect the security camera to a dumb D-Link Powerline Adapter via a CAT-5 cable. The CAT-5 cable and a power cord are coming out the back of the camera and through a cut in the window screen. I would have had to cut the power cord coming from the camera and then repair the power cord to neatly wire the camera into the building via a small drill hole. This ugly hack will suffice for now,

I'm currently testing the outdoor performance of the camera. It is raining today, heavy at times, but the camera lens is shedding the water ok. I intentionally angled the face of the camera down a bit so this might be helping it to shed water. Could have put a box around the camera to help keep rain/wind off it but I'd like to see what it does out of the box. Haven't tested nighttime performance yet.

My D-Link based network would allow me to easily add more D-Link cameras to my D-Link Cloud Camera login. In my D-Link cloud login I would see tabs for each installed security camera and click on the relevant camera name to see what is going on from that viewing perspective. I could also be monitoring bird pressure on the grape vines I planted to see if flocks of birds are eating my grape crop. I put up some bird netting on some of the older producing grape vine rows but there are lots of unnetted berries for birds to eat. I might be ordering another D-Link outdoor camera soon... Maybe a loud horn.... Hmm.... Remote-controlled farming...