When it came to keeping out unwanted visitors, farm gates were traditionally judged solely on the sturdiness of their construction.

But new technology has now given them brain as well as brawn.

Hertfordshire arable and beef farmer Andrew Gray, who runs a company called Turnpikes, has been selling automated farm gates for eight years.

He offers both swing versions up to 4.9m (16ft) and sliding cantilever gates of 5m, 6m and 7m widths.

All the gates he sells are industrial-quality units that are opened and closed by a ram powered by a 250W hydraulic pump. They’re designed to cope with typical farm usage, he says, which can often involving opening and closing 30 or 40 times a day. That’s in contrast to domestic versions which only have to open and close two or three times a day.

The gate-locking mechanism combines a magnetic lock with a hydraulically-driven shoot bolt. A safety beam stops the gate closing if anything is in the way and the gate can be opened and closed by a key-fob transmitter

If you want to go down the high-tech route, the gates can also be fitted with a GSM intercom + keypad that runs on a pay-as-you-go SIM card. When a visitor presses the call button, the unit calls the house phone or your mobile. When you answer the phone you can talk to the person at the gate and then press 3 on the phone to let them in.

You can also dial the gate at any time from a registered phone to open it and there’s also a facility to hold the gate open.

Once the concrete bases have been prepared, the gate unit can be lifted into position and then bolted down. The cables from the keypads are simply plugged into the control panel.

Prices range from £2700 for a 4.9m swing gate to £6500 for a 6m cantilever gate. Details from 01707 645038 or www.turnpikes.co.uk