ST. PETER, Minn. — Investigators are trying to find 150 pigs reportedly stolen from a farm in southern Minnesota.

They also want to know if those responsible are the same thieves that stole nearly 600 pigs from an operation in Kandiyohi County, in west-central Minnesota.

The Nicollet County sheriff’s office was called Friday to a farm near Lafayette. The owner of the farm told deputies that he had gone in to cull all the market-ready pigs from his barns, and found 150 animals missing.

The stolen pigs have an estimated market value of more than $30,000.

Investigators also are working with deputies from Kandiyohi County, where 590 pigs were stolen from a livestock operation near Lake Lillian on Aug. 15. The value of those pigs is estimated at more than $100,000.