Mississippi Agricultural & Livestock Theft Bureau Works to Prevent Crime on the Farm
In partnership with: Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce
When thieves come snooping, Mississippi farmers can rest a bit easier thanks to the Mississippi Agricultural & Livestock Theft Bureau (MALTB) of the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce.
“The bureau was formed by the state legislature in 1993 to better serve our agricultural community,” says Dean Barnard, MALTB director. “Agriculture is big business in Mississippi, so it’s important to protect it.”
Barnard oversees the bureau, which consists of 12 investigators who work across the state. Each investigator is a certified police officer empowered to enforce all laws and arrest violators for stealing livestock, agricultural equipment and more.
“We’ve seen an increase in livestock theft due to livestock prices,” Barnard says. “The price of livestock has increased, so thieves get a bigger payoff for that effort.”
He adds that most thieves go for easy targets of farmers located in rural areas who don’t have technology or security measures in place to prevent theft.
“We’ve found that thieves do their homework,” Barnard says. “They know when farmers are in and out, and they’ll typically steal a small load of livestock at a time. Sometimes, a farmer might not realize anything is missing for several weeks, especially if they have a large herd.”
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Thieves are also targeting agricultural equipment. Barnard says irrigation pumps have been destroyed to remove copper from them. This vandalism and theft cost the farmers thousands of dollars in damage.
Additionally, with the rise of technology, farmers have to watch out for online scams or bogus checks.
The MALTB encourages anyone who experiences agricultural theft to first call their local sheriff’s office. They will contact the bureau, who will send out an investigator and work closely with law enforcement in the area.
“We cover really big areas of the state, so local jurisdictions are a big help to us,” Barnard says.
In addition to investigating crimes, he says the bureau does a lot to educate the public on the nature of agricultural theft and how they can help prevent it in their area. Learn more at msagtheft.org.
For more information about how the department assists farmers, visit mdac.ms.gov.