Yet rural crime remains the hardest to solve, according to Kyle Mulrooney, co-director of the Centre for Rural Criminology.

"Rural crime is low risk and high reward," Dr Mulrooney said.

Worse still, he says farmers lack confidence in police solving the crime, with farmers more likely to use "the bush telegraph" and report crime to neighbours and family.

"Farmers sometimes don't report a crime, even though they know the culprit, because they fear social repercussions, particularly in smaller communities," Dr Mulrooney said.

Now NSW Police have invested $250,000 in a campaign aimed at cracking down on rural crime.

The money is being spent on marketing material including "No trespassing" gate signs, keyrings, notebooks, magnets and stickers featuring the Police Assistance Line.

Detectives and members of the Rural Crime Prevention Team will also attend face-to-face sessions across the region, to meet with the community and discuss local issues.

Detective chief inspector Cameron Whiteside is the state rural crime coordinator of the Rural Crime Prevention Team.

"We need a whole of community approach to reduce and solve crime in regional areas and there are some measures that individuals can do to help prevent crime from happening to them," chief inspector Whiteside said.

Farmers are urged to accurately record livestock identification, remove keys from machinery, keep photos of valuable stock to assist with identifying them and install quality locking devices on your gates, sheds, and equipment.

"If you see or hear of anything you believed to be suspicious, such as a vehicle in an area that's not meant to be there, or stock being moved late at night; we urge you to call Crime Stoppers or your local police."

Dr Mulrooney said a major type of crime experienced by farmers in New England was livestock theft.

An overwhelming majority of farmers in New England and elsewhere were taking personal responsibility for rural crime prevention, with 81 per cent of farmers surveyed counting livestock regularly, 78 per cent locking the farmhouse when not present, 72 per cent keeping gates shut and locked and 65 per cent using warning signs.

Nevertheless, rural crime rates remain high. NSW police figures indicate that between 2015 and 2020, an average of 1800 cattle and 16,700 sheep were stolen each year across NSW at a cost of nearly $4 million (annually) to farmers.

Dr Mulrooney said for his research, he had interviewed detectives who worked on murders, rapes and other hard crime.

"But at the end of the day, they all said the same thing; rural crime is the hardest to solve," Dr Mulrooney said.

That's because thieves and trespassers know the chance of them being caught are not high.

There are no police patrols on rural properties, few witnesses and no evidence gathering material, such as closed circuit television.

Furthermore, weeks may have passed by the time a farmer notices some of his livestock missing.

Little research has been done to profile type of offenders, however, thieves must have some cultural knowledge of farming.

"They must know how to muster cattle, operate heavy machinery, know what to do with the cattle once they're stolen, that type of insider knowledge," Dr Mulrooney said.

There are some devices that help prevent livestock theft, such as smart ear tags, although these can come with a prohibitive price tag.

For Uralla farmer Richard Daugherty, simply locking his gates has deterred thieves from his property.

Five years ago, Mr Daugherty had 300 Merino ewes (worth about $50,000) stolen from his property "Balala".

"Now I keep my gates locked at all times and I haven't had a theft since," he said.

Fact sheets with prevention measures for farmers can be found at https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au/be-safe/.