Thieves At Work on the Farm

It's reported in the Record Online that thieves recently entered an almond warehouse in the Central Valley of California and made off with better than $250,000 worth of almonds.

Further, in San Joaquin County, the Rural Crime Unit has documented thefts of ATVs, equipment, and cattle recently.

It's worth noting that our colleagues in California are far ahead of us here on the prairie in gathering the resources and people necessary to make a dent in rural crime. It's just not on the map here, although this type of thievery is well known to every rural county sheriff in the state of Iowa.

Farmers here are advised to be vigilant, particularly in this time of year where valuable equipment may be left in the field and products like soya are in the bin in remote locations. There is also much logic behind asking your candidates what they're doing to advance detection and prosecution of rural criminals.



http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060914/MONEY/609140325

http://agcomm.co.tulare.ca.us/agcrime.htm