Ag theft plaguing farmers

Thieves stole 70 feet of copper wire from an irrigation pump at the Natomas Central Mutual Water Co.

They also stole tractor batteries and siphoned diesel on Dennis Gallagher’s farm and took brass sprinkler heads from another farmer’s orchards.

Gallagher estimated the losses on his 3,500-acre walnut and rice farm at $35,000 to $50,000.

He hired a night patrolman for about a month. He came close to catching someone after the sheriff told him what to do.

“They always seem to be looking for copper or aluminum,” Gallagher said.

The fourth-generation Rio Oso farmer said he is disappointed by the thefts.

“I like farming, but I don’t like dealing with these types of things,” he said.

Farmers in Sutter and Yuba counties have been hit hard by thefts of copper, brass, aluminum and steel. Law enforcement, farmers and the local Farm Bureau are working to stop the increase in theft sparked by rising metal prices.

Sutter, Yuba, Placer and Sacramento counties have created a task force to combat the thefts.

The Sutter County Sheriff’s Department is doubling patrols, using undercover detectives and setting out “bait,” said Undersheriff J. Paul Parker. The Sutter County Board of Supervisors also expedited the purchase of a high-tech surveillance and tracking system.

The farmers are passionate about helping, Parker said.

“I can’t think of one that doesn’t want to help us out,” he said.

California has seen a substantial increase in agricultural crimes in the last few years, said Danielle Rau, director of rural crime prevention for the California Farm Bureau Federation.

The Central Valley had $6 million in reported losses last year and has had about $2.2 million in losses so far this year. That amount only reflects the cost of stolen materials, not equipment vandalism or loss in crop yield, Rau said.

Natomas Central Mutual Water Co. spent several thousand dollars to repair the pump, but the ultimate cost could have been much greater if rice field water supplies had been cut off for too long, said General Manager Dee Swearingen.

“They are stealing from the farmers in the long run,” he said.

When thieves steal $100 in copper from an irrigation pump, they leave behind thousands of dollars in damage, Rau said. Recyclers don’t help the problem because they usually accept metals with “no questions asked.”

Counties are working to create local ordinances that would require recyclers to increase recordkeeping on metal transactions and customers.

Police records show thieves are trying to “make a quick buck,” and many use the money for drugs, Rau said.

About 35 farmers met with the Sheriff’s Department and the Yuba-Sutter Farm Bureau earlier this month to discuss the problem, said Danielle Coleman, the bureau’s executive director.

The farmers were told to report all thefts, no matter how small, Coleman said.

Some farmers don’t report theft incidents because they think the law can’t help them or the theft is too small to worry about, Parker said.

“A lot of time farmers just want to take it on the chin,” Parker said. “They don’t want to bother anyone and just want to get back to working.”

Swearingen said the Sheriff’s Department responded quickly to the thefts, but Natomas Central is working to put its own security in the area.

“It’s sad this is what society has come to,” he said. “I hate to see vandalism. I hate to see people wantonly damaging other people’s property.”

Appeal-Democrat intern Ashley Gebb can be reached at 749-4724 or agebb@appealdemocrat.com