Wire Theft Stops Pivots

By Boyd Kidwell
Progressive Farmer Senior Editor

Copper wire theft is a serious problem on the farm. Thieves find it easy to climb a pivot in the middle of the night and strip the copper wire for sale to recycling dealers.

The sad thing about this crime is thieves cause $5,000 to $10,000 in damages to a pivot and get away with approximately $250 worth of copper. In addition, crops lose crucial irrigation water as farmers make repairs.

In some areas, courts haven't viewed copper wire theft as a serious crime. Arrested suspects escape jail time by not showing up for court or escape prosecution because of lack of evidence.

BROTHERS BATTLE CROOKS

Eddie and David Carmichael, of Laurinburg, N.C., fight a constant battle with copper thieves in their irrigated fields of cotton, corn and vegetables. In some cases, thieves have boldly stolen the copper wire from new pivots even before the rigs were operational.

The Carmichael brothers can only laugh as they look at an old pair of shoes left behind when they recently scared a thief off one of their pivots. This would-be thief dropped his wire cutters and shucked his shoes to run away through a cotton field.

"It's an awful feeling to have your cell phone alarm go off at 2 a.m.," Eddie says. "It's amazing how hard some people will work so they don't have to work."

But the Carmichaels are striking back. Here are steps they take to prevent wire theft:

-- Install stainless steel bands every 8 inches to hold copper wire to the pipe. This works well, except when the thieves hook the wire to a truck and pull down the irrigation pipe, causing additional damage.

-- Place gates across farm roads and dig ditches along rural roads so thieves can't access fields. Again, this decreases thefts, but crooks still try to knock down the gates. In recent attempts, vehicles drop off thieves who steal the wire and carry it out to a country road and a getaway car.

-- Hire guards for nighttime hours. This tactic works well but is too expensive for a long-term solution.

-- Wait to install copper wire until new pivot rigs have electric power and cell phone alarms can be activated.

-- Install cell phone alarms. Today's pivots have alert systems that notify farmers by cell phone when pivot ground wires are cut.

Cell phone alerts are making it easier for the Carmichaels to at least chase the trespassers away before they can do much damage. But the battle against thieves continues.

RAT TRAP

An alarm called NetIrrigate WireRat helped farmer Stevie Scates and his family apprehend suspects tampering with pivots on their farm, near Shawneetown, Ill. At 2 a.m. one morning, Scates received a cell phone alarm call and text. Scales called his uncles and cousins, and hurried to the field.

A cousin noticed tire tracks leading into a wooded area, and the farmers found a vehicle covered by black plastic with a person hiding inside. Scates contacted law enforcement, and deputies quickly arrived to take the suspects into custody. In addition to the driver, another person was located in the woods. So far, the arrests have served as a deterrent to other wire thefts.

In addition to farming, Scates is an irrigation equipment dealer and has installed WireRat alarms on 50 pivots. WireRat devices sell for a suggested retail price of $1,099 each (per pivot) and a $5-per-pivot, per-month subscription fee.

ORGANIZED TO FIGHT CRIME

After paying out $200,000 in claims for irrigation equipment damage in 2010, Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance took a proactive role in stopping copper wire theft from pivots. In 2011, the company began cost-sharing WireRat alarms in some counties as a pilot program. Local farm bureaus in the pilot counties coordinated with sheriffs and held news conferences about the pivot alarm program so local newspapers and radio stations would make the community aware of efforts to combat wire thefts.

The program has generated good results. In 2011, farmers in Jasper County -- one of the pilot counties -- reported 18 cases of wire theft to the sheriff's office. After the WireRat program began in 2012, only one case of stolen wire from a pivot was reported. Another case of attempted theft is under investigation, according to the Jasper County sheriff.

To encourage participation in the theft-prevention program, the Indiana Farm Bureau pays to install the first WireRat alarm system if the farmer agrees to install WireRats on all his pivots. The farmer also receives a 5% premium discount on the farm's insurance policy, and signs are installed near the road warning copper thieves the pivot is protected by a theft security system.

(AG)

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