In the old days, horse thieves and cattle rustlers, if caught (and in most movies they were), were often taken care of in a way that would not be politically correct anymore.
Cattle rustling has been around as long as cattle or as Sgt. Mike Rogers of the Missouri State Highway Patrol said, “They stole horses and cows a long time before they stole the first Ford ever built.”
Unfortunately, it isn’t just livestock being rustled, it’s equipment being stolen too.
Rogers is working a case that should end up in Federal Court, which involves the recovery of almost $900,000 worth of stolen farm equipment.
In Missouri, the local Sheriff’s department handles cattle and equipment thefts. But often, and whenever they are asked to help, the Highway Patrol will step in and Criminal Investigators like Rogers from the Division of Drug and Crime Control get on the trail.
Don't Let the Trail Go Cold
As in most crimes, the trail gets cold fast. Rogers encouraged anyone who suspects stolen cattle or equipment to contact their local Sheriff right away. "Once cattle get to the sale barn or equipment ends up on another farm, the chances are slim for recovery.”
Your farm becomes a crime scene so Rogers advised to not touch anything. Don’t drive in the pasture. Rogers has even found DNA on a glove left behind.
For a rancher to be more helpful to law enforcement, having a good description of cattle or pictures of missing equipment, VIN numbers, anything that might help identify animals or equipment, is good.
Even though Missouri is “in the dark ages” according to Rogers, with regard to communication on agricultural theft, information still gets entered into a data base and does help when he starts calling sale barns to alert them for cattle of certain markings, brands etc.
Branding is an important thing for farmers to do; tattooing too, but brands will “hair-over” and tattoos are hard to see unless you catch an animal. Rogers added this on branding: “If people know your cattle are branded – that is even better than having them branded when some guy is scoping out your place. Seeing those signs might be a deterrent.” But he adds, “If he comes in the middle of the night and steals your cows and then sees your brands, he isn’t gonna bring them back.” Missouri law does not require branding.
How You Can Help
Farmers can help each other by watching out for unusual activity. In general, people don’t drive trailers around at night. Rogers also suggests watching for unusual activity in the daytime. Cars pulled over on a rural road could be scouting out livestock, equipment or looking for an easy way in or out of property.
Rogers thinks some folks make it too easy for thieves to do their business. “Don’t pen your cows up close to the road. These guys drive the roads looking for an easy place to steal and an easy place to load.”
It may be convenient to have panels and a place to sort near the road but he recommends keeping these out of sight or further away from roads and gates, if at all possible. What makes it easier for the farmer to catch and load his cattle makes it easier for the thief as well.
Rogers doesn’t buy that the main reason for the upsurge in theft is the economy. “There are thieves who’d rather (steal) than go out and find a job. Some of them work harder at being thieves than if they went out and got a real job, though." But, he attested, "When the economy rebounds they are still going to be stealing.”
Another stereotype Rogers doesn’t agree with is only 'citified drug addicts' being the culprits. “In order to steal cows, you have to know something about them. How to catch them, trailer them. Most of these boys have some sort or farming background.” He explained these are just thieves in the cattle business.
The Need for Increased Regulation
Rogers is also surprised and frustrated by the lack of proof required at many sale barns. A buyer has to show ID and if someone uses too many bad checks, they’ll not be welcomed back. The bar is set much lower for sellers. "You just show up with a load of cows and tell them where to send your check.” This lack of verification makes it easier for thieves to unload cattle without much risk of getting caught. He wishes certain people could be banned from sale barns just like they can be from gambling boats.
Rogers warns ranchers selling cattle or equipment not to take checks on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday. “People may not be rustling your cattle but they’ll write you a bad check.” Take checks only from people you know or call the bank before you accept payment with a check, even on a weekday.
Rogers said theft rises in the winter when “all you need is a bucket of feed” to make it easy to load cattle.
Rogers would also like to see ranchers put some pressure on their legislators to make controlling agricultural theft a higher priority.
“We need a group of guys who go out every day – and have the equipment. I have had to use my own truck and trailer (in recovering some stolen equipment). The state did not have anything I could use.”
Some ranchers have begun to take matters into their own hands, camping out with cattle and carrying rifles. Rogers doesn’t recommend this. “On the other hand it’s your place. You have the right to be there and they don’t. But to confront somebody is not a good idea.”
Rogers, a cattleman himself, enjoys catching the bad guys but he can’t help if he doesn’t know about it. The local number for Troop D is (417) 895-6868.
