Ross cut his water run from 2 hours to 5 minutes

For Ross Batzloff, a two-hour water run around his 19,000 acre property “Laguna” in south-west Queensland was just part of the job.

During dry times, he took the 40km run several times a week to check waters and the state of his cattle.

The trip not only took considerable time, but also chewed through fuel and added extra wear and tear on his vehicle and the tracks around his property. Ross looked for a smarter way to monitor his property.

Ross investigated traditional telemetry systems buy they proved too expensive.

“The cost was going to be, to do nine watering points…$30,000. And I just thought that was ridiculous; that sort of money to do only nine watering points,” he said.

He then found an alternative farm monitoring solution over the internet – Outdoor Cameras Australia.

“We started off with one (Swift camera) to make sure it worked first and…we just kept putting them up at the main watering points, turkeys nests, the main tanks,” he said.

Besides checking water and infrastructure, Ross soon found the camera system had other benefits.

“Then we realised with the cameras that we could put them up on a pole and get not only the tank but also get the trough and that way in some places we actually got two troughs with the same camera…You can see calves. You see what condition the stock is in.”

“It is just work so successfully, we finished up with 17 now.”

Ross now does his “water run” twice a day – sitting at his kitchen table drinking a cuppa.

“The main thing is peace of mind that you’ve got. We can get two clear photos a day of all the watering points. It’s actually like going out driving around twice a day to check things – which we would never do. So it is just a brilliant concept.”

Enduro 4G Solar Package

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Enduro 4G Standard Package

Comes with everything you need to get started.  Swift Enduro 4G camera, 32GB SD card and 12 premium Alkaline or Rechargeable batteries. $494-$545

The Swift
Solar Panel

Extend your camera’s battery life with a lightweight, weatherproof solar panel. Generating enough power for up to 1000 images per day. Perfect for remote locations. $110