Metal Thieves Strike Western Farms

By Joseph Friedrichs, 6-10-08

	Caption: Farm near Mt. Hood.

As if the weather, insects, crop diseases and actual, real-life troubles weren’t enough for farmers in the West to worry about, thieves have started stealing irrigation wire from watering machines so that it can be sold for large profits.

The agriculture community in states from Colorado to Oregon is swarmed with waves of fear and paranoia as scavengers stalk their fields at night hoping to score copper from expensive irrigation machines.

Thieves are stealing the wire so it can be sold to scarp metal dealers for up to $3 a pound. Law enforcement officials are reporting that the swine committing theses crimes can cut and haul as much as 90 pounds of wire at a time.

Irrigation systems have recently been getting slaughtered in Oregon’s Willamette Valley during recent weeks, Ruth Liao with the Statesman Journal reports. Liao’s article says that last year berry farms and nurseries were hit with sprinkler-head and irrigation pipe thefts. This year, the metal thieves have turned to irrigation wire.

In addition to property damage, farmers burdened with these crimes have to worry about the impact of not watering their crops on schedule.

It’s a strange year and these are strange times for Western farmers. Enough to make blue eyes start crying in the rain.