FARMERS are being targeted by opportunistic thieves.
One of the most recent farm crimes was the shooting of a pregnant cow, worth between $3000 and $4000, at a dairy farm between Myall and Westby early this month.
The farmer found the cow dead on September 7.
Kerang police Senior Sergeant Michael Kearnes said the cow had been shot at least twice.
Police believe the shooting occurred between the evening of September 4 and the morning of September 6.
Swan Hill police service area farm crime liaison officer Sergeant Andrew Neil said the theft of stock was “popping its head up at the moment”.
“I think it’s because of the cost of meat at the supermarkets at the moment,” he said.
“It’s opportunistic – people are pinching a couple of sheep by climbing over the fence.”
Sgt Neil said farmers should mark their livestock, both as an identification tool and for crime prevention, but warned that ear tags would not prevent theft.
“I’ve noticed that there are large groups of sheep missing, whether that’s due to a fence being down, or there is something more sinister going on.”
He said with the lambing and calving seasons coming up, farmers needed to ensure they had a good summary of their stock.
“We know it can be difficult for huge areas of land, but we suggest the farmers get CCTV cameras up around their lambing or calving, dairy or hay sheds.”
He said farmers and contractors should also be wary of leaving keys in their tractors or farm bikes and lock gates where possible.
Sgt Neil said unusual sightings should be reported.
“We encourage farmers to talk among themselves and also let us know that there was a strange vehicle out there,” he said.
He encouraged farmers to report crimes, no matter how small.
“Eighty, 100 or 200 litres isn’t a whole lot of diesel to a big farm, but to a person stealing it to put into their ute to drive around, they’ll get a month out of that,” Sgt Neil said.
“We want the stats to go up.
“We want farmers to report that five litres of diesel stolen, or that one sheep or cow, so then we can have a look at what’s happening.
“Report that small amount of fuel – it’s not out of control, but it’s a busy season now where there is more fuel and equipment on the farms.”
Sgt Neil said grain storage (sausage bags) and hay bales should not be left on the edge of a farm against, or near, a fence line.
He said when grain was stolen from these bags, it was harder for farmers to transport the bags and invited pests such as rodents, mites and weevils to damage the product.
“It loses its integrity and they can’t sell it,” Sgt Neil said.
He said other crime issues included firearms storage and the safety, roadworthiness and fire resistance of farm vehicles.
Cohuna police Sergeant Josh Coombs said another issue farmers faced was diesel theft.
“Coming up to hay season, you’re going to have big machinery around with a lot of available diesel,” he said.
Sen-Sgt Kearnes said one way farmers could count their stock was by using drones.
“That’s a brilliant idea because part of our challenge at times is that we sometimes have a three to six-month window where stock has gone missing because the farmers don’t know when it went missing.”
Sen-Sgt Kearnes encouraged landholders to report farm crimes to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or 131 444.
“They will get a report number straightaway that can be used to claim against their insurance,” he said.
Anyone who witnessed vehicles or people in the Myall and Westby area about the time the cow was shot should call First Constable Sharp at Kerang police station.
