Rokewood farmer Wayne Johnstone, who was robbed of 250 sheep worth $24,000 in one theft 18 months ago, labelled farm crime as “a blight on the industry”.

“I’ve had several neighbours I’ve talked to and they’ve lost sheep as well, 50, 35 and numbers like that,” he said.

“When you’ve got those type of numbers you know they (the thieves) must be selling within the industry and it must be some of your colleagues. That’s a bit of a blight on the industry.”

Mr Johnstone’s comments follow the end of the inaugural state conference for the Victoria Police Livestock and Farm Crime Specialist Group yesterday.

The two-day event will be held twice a year to help build the knowledge and specialist skills of 42 new Agricultural Liaison Officers appointed to target farm crime.

“It’s a great move because farm thefts are definitely becoming more common,” Mr Johnstone said.

Fellow Rokewood sheep farmer Andy Stevens said his station had been struck by thieves four times in the past five years.

In total he’s lost more than $20,000 worth of livestock.

“With what gets stolen I could probably take the family away on holidays for a fortnight each year,” he said. “It’s incredibly frustrating, you get quite angry over it.”

Last financial year there were 250 recorded livestock thefts in Victoria worth an estimated $1.7 million.

Of the 42 police officers taking on the ALO roles, two will be based in Ballarat, one in Maryborough and one in Bacchus Marsh.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Police Peter Ryan officially launched the conference on Thursday, saying farm theft was causing increasing harm to the industry.

“This growing problem is now receiving the focus needed to prosecute thieves and criminals taking advantage of Victoria’s farmers,” he said.

“Farming industry representatives will be on-hand to help educate ALOs and ensure they have the skills, intelligence gathering and professional networks needed to investigate, prosecute and prevent these sort of crimes.”

Following the conference, Moorabool ALO Detective Senior Constable Brian Malloch said communication was the key to catching farm thieves.

“We’ve got to encourage the rural sector to report crime,” he said. “If it’s not reported we can’t see what sort of problem it is and we can’t dedicate members to the task.”