After the theft of 1,000 bushels of canola in east-central Saskatchewan, police are reminding producers to be vigilant in protecting their farms.
Cpl. Craig Cleary of the Melville RCMP said the canola, valued at $9,000, was stolen from a farm north of Kelliher, where it had been stored under a tarp.
“When you have grain stored like this, it’s almost impossible to trace it,” he said.
Cleary suggested adding grain-fetti to harvested crops. He also encouraged farmers to visit their storage sites regularly and keep bins locked.
Read Also
Alberta crop diversification centres receive funding
$5.2 million of provincial funding pumped into crop diversity research centres
The incident has made the local community more wary.
“Farmers had their eyes opened and are watching out for each other,” said Cleary.
In a separate incident, diesel fuel was taken from a farmyard near Goodeve in late October.
In light of recent high fuel prices, police are encouraging rural residents to log any suspicious activity, avoid unlocked vehicles and gas tanks and keep the keys securely stored.
Other tips include having neighbours check on farms regularly, cancel papers delivered to rural route postal boxes and install automatic timers on lights when away.
Take inventory of the contents of both farm and home and consider installing monitored alarm systems to increase security.
