408 12th Ave SW Unit #201, Aberdeen, SD 57401
People in passing ask me all the time “Your shirt says Cattle Cams, what do you do for work?" and I love telling them. We sell cameras to ranchers with cows so they can keep an eye on them when they are calving. The looks on their faces are priceless, and then after a minute or two they ask, “How did you get into that?”
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Well, I had a company that installed security cameras. And a longtime customer came into the store over a decade ago and said “Do you think you can install cameras in my barn, it's a mile away from the house?”
I said, “You want to put a camera where??”
He explained why. I then asked, “Do you have any wire in the ground?” Back then wireless technology was not what it is today. So he said “No, I want it to be wireless.” I said “That's possible, but I'd have to see if I can send a signal that far.”
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Well, after weeks of trying things and a ton of research, I came up with a solution. And there it was; The first customer we helped that didn't have to needlessly go to the barn every two hours.
Founder of Cattle Cams
Travis called me up one evening; It wasn't even 7 pm and it was already 20 below. His call was like hundreds of other calls I’ve received in the last few years: He said: “I'm hoping you can help me.” I said to him “Of course, what's going on?” He said “I have to go out to the barn every 2 hours and check on the cattle. If everything is ok it takes me about 15 minutes to walk through them, but when I get back to the house it takes me 45 minutes to get back to sleep, only to get up again about an hour later. I'm exhausted, and I can't hire anyone because no one wants to work.” I asked him about his setup; Did he have a barn he was calving in, or was it outside, or a combination of both? He told me he has a little of both. I told him how he could lay out one camera inside the barn and one outside, and I recommended where to mount them. I showed him how we wirelessly send them/images to his phone and reassured him we would help him with any questions he had. That was enough information for him to pull the trigger. He was close enough to us that the cameras were delivered in 2 days and he had them up by the end of the 2nd day. He called me that evening and said “You're not gonna believe this, but after I put the cameras up I was sitting down eating dinner and I saw on the camera there was a sack over a calf’s head and it wasn't getting up. I quickly ran out there and removed the sack and saved the calf.” I said, “that's awesome, one more situation like that and the cameras will pay for themselves.” Needless to say, that's just one of the many calls we get thanking us for helping them get set up. We love to help people like Travis.
From that day on, word spread and all his neighbors wanted them, and with each installation, the final product got better and better. Stories of how they worked and how they benefited ranchers came rolling in, benefits I personally had never even thought about. One guy called and said he saved his purebred calf that he later sold as a bull for 10 times the camera system's cost. How? Because he removed the sack from the calf's head. Another customer said he used the playback feature and was able to tell which calf went with which cow. Another customer also used playback and was able to see if the calf sucked. Yet another said he saw a heifer being violent with its calf and saved it. Story after Story. But the best one was from a guy named Brent in North Dakota.After having the cameras for a few years I asked him what he liked most about them; He said “The one memory I have from my first year is the extra time spent with family. My daughter who is 6 now, likes to sit with me in the evening and watch a movie. But without the cameras, most nights during calving season I would not have been able to do this. My daughter asked if we could sit and watch a movie; At the time there was a heifer in the barn starting to calve. Because I could see the barn camera on my computer,I was able to watch the whole movie with my daughter and keep an eye on the heifer. The heifer had the calf on her own, and it got up and nursed, all while my daughter and I were watching her favorite movie. By the time the movie was over, I was satisfied that the heifer and her calf were fine. I carried my daughter to bed and did a final quick check of the cameras.” That story touched me personally because I value the time with my daughter as well. As time went on our product improved, and we made systems we could ship and service remotely, kits customers could install themselves. Now we are in over half the States and Canada. Over the years we’ve hired some really good people, and they have the same passion as I do to help people. It has been an awesome experience, and we keep integrating new technologies and solutions for our customers.
System Installer
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Tech Support Specialist, Bookkeeper
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I love baking and doing fun crafts!
Sales, Tech Support Specialist
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Tech Support Specialist
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Marketing Team, Secretary
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I love surfing!
Tech Support Specialist, Marketing Team
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We don't eat without the hard work of our ranchers and farmers in the community, and I'm so glad I get to help make their lives a little easier. I also love writing music and learning about new things.
Kit Builder, Warehouse Manager
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Hannah has been on the Cattle Cams team since 2019. She enjoys staying creative in all things fitness, home design and art.
Kit Builder
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I’ve been in Aberdeen for a year now and I’ve found many fun things to do in a small town, one of which is playing pickleball. My favorite late night snack is an M&M McFlurry
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