Get a dog. Not one of these stupid breeds we see city slickers owning, but a real dog. That means something 80lbs and up. A Pyr/Akbash cross would do very well for guarding the home and farm.
One thread of thought in this slimes article is how budget cuts will lead to more theft. Clearly a problem, but an agenda item for bigger govt from the slimes.
Roving bands of Amish, I suspect.
The more illegal aliens in an area, the more theft of every kind. They consider themselves immune to our laws.
My daddy always tried to hide his bee hives in the woods on the edge of the fields. People would steal them or sometimes they’d just knock them over and take the supers that were full of honey.
If you think you can out run the business end of my varmint rife on the four wheeler you are welcome to try. But you are just going to end up feeling it, but never hearing it.
A dog and an auto loading shotgun for starters.
I own a small farm. I have chickens and turkeys that I keep as close to the house as I can. 14 birds all told. If they start disappearing, well I own a shotgun as well, no matter what “critter” is stealing them.
Table grapes are not usually 'packed in a plastic bag' like the deputy said and then taken to market. Table grapes are harvested by hand as soon as they are ripe enough to pass a brix (sugar) minimum level. Why? Because that is when the market is the highest and the window for harvest is brief, a matter of a week or two at max for each and every row of vines. Harvest crews are very experienced and skilful carefully removing with razor sharp cutting tools heavy , hot bunches of grapes and placing them into 23 lb boxes stacked in the field so that they can be immediately loaded and taken to a facility to be hydro-cooled, weighed, inspected ( on site USDA and California Dept of Ag.) and then to market, usually shipped in 18 wheel reefers. Open a box at your grocers and be amazed at the lack of spoilage and damage, the fact that virtually all grapes are still on the vines and artfully arranged in the box, etc.
So for thieves to come up to a vineyard unnoticed by crews of often more than a hundred workers, foremen, drivers etc. is highly unlikely as they would be immediately questioned. And for thieves to approach a field just before the grapes are ready, at best a matter of days, would require a great amount of skill just to know how to harvest. High risk and low reward - a few hands of grapes after lots of work in a scratchy, hot vineyard. Equal concerns for other crops like stonefruits, avocadoes, etc.
Now copper pipes and wire are a different matter.
Nothing new here.
Walnut farmer always figure 10-20% loss due to theft, or they used to.
A pick-up load of Walnuts or Almonds is worth some bucks.
And, those who go into those orchards at night are taking a big risk...40 years ago they would be find a few every year face down in the irrigation canals.
I'm guessing CSI technologies have put a damper on that activity.
However, there will be violence. A farmer can't lose those volumes, often his profit margin.
Grow atypical crops that most city rats won’t recognize as food, get a good fierce dog, and keep your gates charged and locked. And maybe keep a few greenbriars or nettle patches strategically placed.
They'd use propane cylinders and thief off of the trailers used to haul the fertilizer in.
(Note: the Anhydrous Ammonia discolors the brass valve and turns it blue, in case you want to know something to look for).
Farmers who kept water troughs near the equipment in case some leaked on them started dumping the troughs (nasty stuff, it'll burn you).
I think the formula for Meth changed, as that seems to have settled down.