Increasingly concerned about theft on the farm?
You bet: more farmers put up alarm systems and cameras but police say best defence is a dog
Farmers Forum spoke with farmers at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show to find out if theft is an increasing worry on the farm. It is and we’re not talking just tools and diesel. Pickup trucks and machinery are favourite choices. One farmer has been repeatedly approached from new immigrants to Canada demanding that he give them milk.
“Yeah, I’m getting more and more concerned about it. The most popular stuff or most expensive stuff you keep close to home. It’s reality. We got broken in at the farm and some tools were stolen. It’s just some local junkies that do it. I called the OPP, and I suggested maybe I should put up some cameras and stuff. And the OPP said, ‘Don’t go overboard, 80% of the time we can’t recognize the people anyway (from the camera footage).”
Dirk Nauwelaerts
Pig farmer and cash cropper
Blyth, Ont.
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“I am concerned. I’ve been robbed three times from my shed. They took small stuff every time. I installed security cameras. I actually have footage. The police were called all three times. The first two times they really didn’t do much, but the third time, I must say, they really were thorough. They went up and down my neighbourhood, and asked everyone if they saw anything. They’ve got video of the guy, but he’s wearing a hoodie, so he’s well protected. You can make out the build of his body, but you can’t make out his face.”
Gerald Kolkman
Pig farmer and cash cropper
Monkton, Ont.
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“We’ve never had an issue. I’m down the road a little ways, but there’s a guy close to the 401 exit, and he’s been hit three times. They come in one driveway, and they zip out the other one with his pickup and trailer and everything. But we have a fenced-in pasture on each side of the lane, with one laneway, so you’ve got to be pretty bold to come in our driveway. And we’ve always had a dog and a laneway alert system, which rings in the house when somebody enters the lane. We didn’t really put the alert system in for theft reasons, it was more just to know when the courier came in to deliver medicine or the animals were getting out.”
Kevin Pennings
Goat farmer
Iona Station, Ont.
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“Yes, about two months ago around 3 in the morning, I was feeding my baby son, and we had a driveway alarm. I heard it, and I thought this is very odd, so I just stayed up looking out the window. And sure enough, a truck came back and then he (the bad guy) came down the house laneway, and I turned the light on. That morning, we found out he (the bad guy) burned six diesel trucks and a few (GMC Sierra) Denalis at farms around us. It was a joyride. He took six trucks and two Denalis from farms, and we think he was targeting my husband’s truck. We know the farm he went to first, before our place, and he chased a young girl who was going to milk there.
“I find there’s more people walking the road, homeless people and that sort of thing. I do see them walking down the road. And I think they know farmers are a good target because we’re so trusting. We keep everything unlocked. But we keep things hidden from the road. We use driveway alarms, hidden cameras. I know people who had fuel stolen from their gas tanks.”
Kyla Van Ginkel
Cash cropper and calf raiser
Ingersoll, Ont.
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“Hah! We have a dog, a wolf-hound husky, on a chain. He scares the bejeebers out of everybody.
“We have cameras set up as well. We’re so close to the road, so I’ve got everybody and their brother stopping by. Can I have milk? Can I buy a cow? I want to slaughter an animal on your farm. No. No. No. We have ‘do not trespass’ signs up all over the place. I’m not sure if people can’t read. Quite often it’s the dog (that does the job). One hundred percent it’s gotten worse. I’m not racist, and I’m a pastor as well. It’s a lot of people who have come into this country with their own ideas that I’ve said ‘no’ to their milk requests. Next thing momma comes up out of the car, stomps her foot and says, ‘Give me milk.’ We deal with a lot of that.
“It’s been really handy being close to the road, but I wish our lane was half a mile long.”
John Molenaar
Dairy farmer
Sunderland, Ont.
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“I only sense it’s getting worse. Have I experienced it? No. I used to have a Toronto police officer right across the road from me, and he said, yes, you can go and get an alarm system. But all that means is that the clock starts ticking for those that are on your property. I’ve installed cameras, and the cop said get a dog. So I have a German Shepherd.”
Erik Ianuzzo
Cash cropper and beef farm
Uxbridge, Ont.
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“We haven’t experienced it. We have a dog in the yard all the time, and there’s lots of people who live at our house with lots of traffic in and out. coming in and out of our place.”
Andy Roelands
Hog farmer and cash cropper
Parkhill, Middlesex, Ont.
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“I’ve had my truck stolen once before. My girlfriend and I were coming back from ribfest in Guelph, and we had a couple of Somalis try and roll up on us. I left it, let’s say. My answer is, I’d rather be judged by 12 than carried by six. If it’s going to be them or me, it’s going to be them every time … as long as I go home safely to my family. I’ve given up on police protection. I’ve had $25,000 in reconstructive work done to my face because I didn’t have any way to protect myself when I needed it … a case of mistaken identity. They (the police) didn’t help me. I haven’t been affected so much on the farm, but some of my neighbours have had a lot stolen, probably a quarter million in equipment, merchandise. Right or wrong, I’ve planted my flag. When animal rights (groups) were raiding farms … I made a comment that if you set foot on my property, the survivors will write about what happened here for the next 3,000 years. Tread lightly … Right or wrong, I haven’t had any trouble on the farm.
Jeff Witzel
Beef and egg farmer
Elora, Ont.
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“Right now, it’s getting bad. The other day somebody walked in and swiped a chainsaw out of the shed beside the house and walked off with it. It’s just a little thing, not a big deal, but I think it’s getting worse. With the economy the way it is, everybody’s tight, and we’re fairly close to Peterborough where there is an awful lot of people who are into drugs.”
Walt de Lange
Maple syrup producer
Cavan, Ont.
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“Absolutely, it’s happening more and more everyday. We put a timer on our fuel tank so people can’t drive in (to steal fuel) in the middle of the night, and we have cameras. I think in the last five years it’s happening a lot more now because of the economy. Desperate times, right?”
David Bruinsma
Dairy farmer
Woodstock, Ont.
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“We find it’s pretty safe, we haven’t seen a lot of theft. But our neighbours have seen thefts of a pickup truck and fuel. It’s a big worry. So locking the fuel and keys out of the truck is kind of where we’re focused now, and security. We’re fairly close to a city, and it’s more of an issue now than 10 years ago.”
Bill Law
Dairy farmer
Cambridge, Ont.
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“Yes, we’re definitely a little concerned about theft. What we’ve seen is on the north side of Oxford County we’ve probably had half a dozen incidents over the last two months at some of my neighbours. So we have put in security cameras on all sheds and grain storage. And we’ve also implemented gates on some of our land that has no land or buildings, just to keep people out. We’re maybe not more concerned than we used to be. Probably about the same in general. It’s always been a problem where we are. We’re in between a few main city centres.”
Josh Moffatt
Cash cropper
St. Mary’s, Ont.
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“Theft is an ever-present concern around the farm, especially over the last couple of years. We’ve had neighbours who have had cars and other tools stolen. This hasn’t directly impacted us, however, it’s something we’re diligent about and take measures such as installing keypad locks and security cameras where necessary, just to ensure that the assets that we have remain where they should be. I’d say it’s been a present concern the last 10 or so years.”
Kurtis Eisler
Crop farmer
Mitchell, Ont.
