Farm Security

Rural insurer NFU Mutual is urging farmers and enthusiast owners to increase security measures as organised criminal gangs are scouring the countryside stealing iconic Land Rover Defenders.

Farmers are being urged to be vigilant to avoid becoming victims of rural theft when the clocks go back, as criminals use the cover of darkness to steal from the countryside.

The cost of rural crime is at an eight-year high, soaring to £54 million according to the latest figures from rural insurer NFU Mutual. With concerns that rural crime is set to escalate as the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic bites, high value tractors, quad bikes and livestock are at even greater risk.

Farmers are being warned to ‘pin it or pen it’ when it comes to expensive tractor GPS systems as the countryside continues to be targeted by tech-savvy criminal gangs.

As the cost of rural crime continues to rise, the NFU is urging the government to take action and treat rural crime as a priority issue for rural communities.

Leading rural insurer NFU Mutual has joined forces with police and agricultural machinery manufacturers to tackle a surge in thefts of expensive guidance systems.

Growing up on the family farm, Eddie McDiarmid started to have problems with thefts from the farm shop, and after installing security cameras, quickly realised that they would also be very useful for lambing and calving season.

The cost of rural crime is at its highest level for eight years, with organised criminal gangs targeting high value tractors, quad bikes and large numbers of livestock.

Increased use of tracking security devices on tractors and quad bikes has helped Police Scotland recover stolen farm machinery worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Taking precautions against incoming vehicles, and keeping visitors to your livestock buildings to a minimum, are both an important part of protecting your herds from the spread of disease.

Farmers are being warned to up their security following a spate of tractor GPS thefts in the south west.

Well-known Welsh farmer and TV presenter Gareth Wyn Jones has said he was left “fuming” after walkers left a gate open on his farm, allowing sheep to escape.