Metal Theft
If you're farming or ranching in California, there’s a good chance you’ve been the victim of metal theft or know someone who has. From copper wire to brass valves to aluminum irrigation pipe, crooks are attacking at an alarming rate and doing a considerable amount of damage along the way.
The story is a familiar one: A farmer checks his pump in preparation for irrigating and finds that the copper wire has been stripped and there is no way to provide water to the fields. He makes the loop, checking all of the pumps on the property and learns he has been the victim of copper theft at multiple locations. Thieves have stripped the pumps in order to recycle the wire at the local scrap yard. Receiving approximately $3 a pound, the crooks have made a couple hundred dollars for their night’s work – and left their victim facing a repair bill of $1,500 to $4,000 or more for each pump.
Farm Bureau is working to address this issue on a variety of fronts and will continue to work with law enforcement and the Legislature to ensure that solutions to metal theft remain a top priority.
Model metal-theft ordinance (PDF, 20 KB)
News release: Farmers and sheriffs push for local metal-theft ordinances (July 11, 2007)
Ag Alert coverage
Commentary: Metal theft (October 17, 2007)
Metal theft prevention now in local hands (July 11, 2007)
Heavy lifting: Legislators join rural crime detectives to fight metal theft (April 18, 2007)
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