Hutchinson ? Stray livestock and cars don’t mix.

That’s why the Reno County Farm Bureau started a program this fall aimed at returning wandering animals to their owners’ fields more quickly.

The organization provides members two metal signs containing an identification number at no cost. Members are able to purchase additional signs for their pastures for $12 each. Nonmembers can pay $35 to join the Farm Bureau to receive the signs.

When livestock escape, law enforcement and passers-by can call 911 and report the identification number. Dispatchers have access to a confidential database the Farm Bureau provides.

The program provides a quick and easy way to notify owners if their cattle are out, said Reno County producer Brad Blank, who serves on the organization’s board.

He said the program is a spin-off of one started in Barton County last year.

Stray cattle are fairly common in Reno County, with sheriff’s deputies receiving about 70 reports each month, said Capt. Wayne Baughman.

Most residents worry more about hitting deer this time of year, but collisions with cattle also aren’t uncommon, Baughman said.

One livestock-automobile crash earlier this fall left a child with nonlife-threatening injuries.

“We respond to cattle out daily,” Baughman said. “It also helps us in a big way because it will be a lot safer for people out there, and we can get animals off the roadway that much quicker.”

Baughman said cattle weren’t the only livestock that are potential safety hazards if they stray from their fences.

“It doesn’t matter what it is, emus, sheep, goats,” he said. “We have it all.”