Metal Thieves Swipe Brass Valves From Lodi Cherry Farm
LODI (CBS13) - Thieves targeted a cherry farm making off with brass and causing thousands in damages.
"This ranch is 70 acres of cherries," said Jim Quaschnick, owner of Quaschnick Ranch.
He's a fifth-generation farmer and has never seen the crime quite this bad.
"We've got tons of rural Farm crime going on," be said.
Thieves broke pipes and stole loads of irrigation valves.
"Came in and smashed and dashed. Took the brass valves off of each side of those," he said.
It happened to 18 of the 20 locations on his farm and says he's not the only one getting hit.
"It's rampant through this whole rural area and it's not just in to Lodi. I think it's all over," he said.
It has forced farmers to get creative.
"Now as we are losing these we are replacing them with PVC valves, otherwise they're just going to come back and steal again," he said.
The cherries are dormant now, but if the theft happened in the spring it could put his profits at risk.
"It's very critical to get the right amount of water at the right time. So if it delayed us and we had to get it fixed and it slowed us down for a couple of days, it would certainly affect a lot of the production including the size of that cherry," he said.
Many farmers have taken their frustrations to Facebook to warn others.
"Two-thousand people get a Quick hit that, hey we got this problem and share some information," said Quaschnick.
He's now hoping to catch the brass bandits before the cherries blossom.
As another deterrent, Jim is looking into installing cameras to help stop the crime.
The San Joaquin County has a rural farm task force that's investigating. If you see suspicious activity, report it.