Sort of thing I'dve done!
Lightening conductors will increase your safety too, you want a conductor higher than the aerial to offer a lower resistance to ground, this is a bit of a special subject though you'd better do a bit of reading up.
To improve your range I'd reccomend you use a 1/4 wave aerial, you can buy them fairly cheap, cbers call them tank whips, you can make your own fairly easily too, you'll also need a ground plane, you can buy these but its a lot cheaper making one, 3 bits of co-ax or as a mate of mine did very successfuly and old car door!, if your on a farm you'll probably have a bit of wriggly tin or metal clad lying around.