Police in Western Australia's Wheatbelt are investigating the theft of 36,000 litres of liquid fertiliser from a rural property near Toodyay.
Last week a landholder at Wattening attempted to fill a machine, only to discover more than half of their 60,000-litre tank of Flexi-N was missing.
Police have called for witnesses to any unusual behaviour in the Wattening area from October last year when the tank was filled.
Toodyay Senior Constable Kevan French said he was unsure how the theft had occurred but said it was unusual and premeditated.
"A two-year search, state-wide, has only found one other incident in Moora [about 100km north-west of Wattening], where 40,000 litres of liquid fertiliser was taken in April last year," he said.
Fertiliser price hike
Fertiliser prices have soared to record highs over the past 12 months due to restricted supply from China and global insecurity resulting from the conflict in Ukraine.
Product is often stored in large quantities and left unattended on farms, which police said made for easy targets.
Senior Constable French said farmers should lock up storage tanks where possible and keep an eye out for suspicious behaviour.
"With seeding starting to ramp up there's going to be a lot of trucks around, but if it's a truck or a vehicle you don't recognise then please contact police," he said.
A 'grubby thing to do'
Pastoralists and Graziers Association president and York farmer Tony Seabrook described farmers as "sitting ducks" who were vulnerable to people stealing from their houses, sheds and paddocks when they were not present.
"Most farmers are bloody good blokes and good women," he said.
"It's a really grubby thing to do. "
Mr Seabrook said the advent of portable battery-powered cutting tools made it fairly pointless to lock up plant and equipment as padlocks could easily be cut.
He said many properties, including his own, had security cameras installed.
"I think it's something every farmer should consider," he said.
"I don't think the police can do much to stop this.
"It's individual awareness, it's cameras, having people on the property, being careful.
"It falls back on the property owners more than the police."
