Over the years I have spoken with various farmers in the UK who thought America still ran on a “Wild West” system, where we could shoot anyone who trespassed on our property and as a result had very little rural crime.

Quite the opposite is true. Around Christmas there was a spate of theft from farms in my area, mostly of tools and welders, but also a pickup truck.

The thief drove it about 30 miles, then set it on fire. That is particularly irritating.

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It was for these reasons my brother bought me some wireless security cameras for Christmas and I am now in the process of setting them up across the farm.

We also have our fair share of cattle rustling. Go to a cattle auction and you will often see a notice on the bulletin board of as many as 70 animals stolen at one time.

It is very rare for anyone to get caught stealing cattle. For years we branded our cows and calves, but that didn’t ever keep them from being stolen.

The most bizarre crimes of late occurred about 50 miles west of my farm. Two farmers had cattle killed and parts surgically removed.

Apparently the cattle were not shot, with one television station reporting evidence a laser had been used on one of the cows, but I have not been able to find out if that is true.

These mutilations happen occasionally and rumors of alien activity almost always accompany them – the kind from outer space, not Mexico.

As far as the “Wild West” goes, in Kansas I can legally walk around with a sidearm in plain site, or I can carry a concealed gun on me at any time.

You cannot use deadly force unless you feel your life is threatened, so I can’t shoot someone for stealing my pickup or cattle.

But if someone breaks into my house and has a gun, I am not required to try to escape – I can shoot to kill.

I strongly suspect this is the main reason we have nearly no home invasions in rural Kansas, even though we might get robbed blind from the sheds outside the house.

Brian Hind farms 1,250ha of prairie land, of which 960ha is family-owned and the rest rented. Of this, 330ha is arable cropping with maize, soya, grain sorghum, alfalfa plus a mix of rye, triticale and turnips for grazing his herd of 400 beef cattle. Grassland is used to produce hay.