The sneaky tricks crooks use to hit farms in the Ballarat region

That's what the country police officer behind a farm prevention roadshow, west of Ballarat has learned during his investigations.

"The really concerning part is that only 50 per cent of crimes on the land are actually reported," Leading Senior Constable Sam McCaskill said.

"There can be huge spans of time when the crime may have occurred - and people may not be sure of exactly what has gone missing, how many sheep, or how long ago."

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Senior Constable McCaskill is urging farmers to report thefts from their properties, no matter how small it may seem.

"Don't feel like we are too busy. We really need this information and I want to hear from people," he said.

"A small piece of info could prevent a huge future theft."

The Lake Bolac officer in charge wants rural people to take note of unusual vehicles at strange times of the day.

"If you take everything out of a two-horse float, someone could potentially jam 20 sheep or lambs in there," Senior Constable McCaskill said.

"Old caravans are another issue as well as 'Sprinter' style delivery vans.

"If you see them driving around, especially at night and it doesn't look right, give police a call."

Senior Constable McCaskill said offenders were getting increasingly organised, operating in groups and even bringing their own dogs and ramps to round up sheep.

He said the high price of diesel was also causing headaches, with some offenders taking more than a thousand litres at a time.

"Make a record or even make a mental note of how much diesel is in the tank of your farm machinery after you use it," he said.

"You don't want to come back and there's none at all. The fuel theft problem has become worse since the price went up."

As of Tuesday, diesel was $2.02 a litre in Ballarat and about $2.06 in Ararat and Warrnambool.

Senior Constable McCaskill also encouraged farmers to secure gates with combination locks.

"There's nothing worse than going to the gate in your tractor and realising you left the padlock keys in the ute," he said.

"Combination locks are the way to go.

"You may not be aware of how many sheep are missing until many months down the track, but at least you'll have an idea of when any lock was broken.

"There are many different options around CCTV systems where you can have a shed about one kilometre away and still use wifi from the house."

Leading Senior Constable McCaskill said lack of internet reception was the biggest hurdle preventing farmers from installing security cameras.

"I've had a lot of questions in relation to CCTV. We would encourage people to do their research.

"Find the one that fits your needs the best." he said.

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