Ray Yeung, a partner at Chan & Yeung Inc., a California farming operation growing pistachios and row crops, learned that firsthand after thieves targeted one of the operation’s remote pistachio irrigation sites twice.

At one of the operation’s remote pistachio irrigation sites in Elk Grove, thieves targeted the electrical wiring twice. The first time, they didn’t actually take the wire.

“They cut the wires, and then they left,” said Yeung.

An electrician was called to reconnect the system, and irrigation resumed. But when the crew returned later to water again, the wire was gone.

“They didn’t actually steal the wires the first time,” he explained. “I think they just wanted to see what kind of tools they needed.”

Whether or not that was the thieves’ intent, the pattern highlighted one of the challenges growers face at isolated agricultural sites: a thief can have significant time to assess a location, leave, and return later to do more damage.

“Out here, who’s going to catch you?” Yeung said.

The Cost Is More Than the Copper

For this particular site, the direct cost of the theft was approximately $3,000 in repairs. But that wasn’t what concerned the grower most.

“The bad part is you need to have the water,” Yeung explained. “If you don’t have someone come and fix it, then you’re down.”

Fortunately, the operation was able to get an electrician to the site quickly. But depending on where a pump is located—and how urgently a crop needs irrigation—a delay can become significantly more expensive than the stolen material itself.

The operation had experienced a similar problem at another farming location near Sacramento, where a row-crop site had also been targeted twice.

That incident was particularly concerning because of the irrigation timing required for crops such as tomatoes.

“With tomatoes, you have to put the water on at that time,” he said. “If you don’t, you’re going to lose the crop.”

That changes the calculation growers make when evaluating theft prevention. The question is no longer simply: How much will it cost to replace the wire? It becomes: What happens to the crop if the pump can’t run?

Beyond Steel Cages

After the theft, one of the first solutions considered was physically enclosing the equipment.

A pump company suggested building a heavy steel enclosure—or “strong box”—around the vulnerable components. The quoted cost was approximately $7,000.

But the grower wasn’t convinced that simply adding more steel solved the underlying problem.

“I wanted to do something other than just put iron around it,” Yeung said.

Given enough time and the right tools, he explained, a determined thief could still defeat a physical barrier.

“It just takes a cutting torch and hand tools nowadays,” he said.

A steel enclosure might slow someone down, but at a remote agricultural site, additional time may not provide much protection if no one knows a break-in is happening. That led him to look for another approach.

Searching for a Different Kind of Deterrent

While researching solutions, the grower came across Farmblox COP-R-LOCK, the security system designed to protect agricultural infrastructure. When a wire is cut or motion is detected, the COP-R-LOCK Security System sets off a loud alarm on-site, triggers a camera to record, and notifies growers in real time.

For Yeung, what stood out was not simply creating another physical obstacle around his pumps. With COP-R-LOCK, he now knows when something happens immediately.

“The fact that you notify me—that’s a big thing,” Yeung said. “That you text me.”

For a remote pump station, that notification changed the dynamic. Instead of discovering cut or missing wire the next time someone arrives to irrigate, the grower knows right away. That way, they can make sure irrigation isn’t down for a long period of time and doesn’t impact the crop.

A Problem Bigger Than One Farm

Copper theft has been on the rise across the region in the past few years, as the price of copper has risen to record highs. Yeung described conversations with other growers nearby who had recently dealt with similar incidents.

The experience has made him rethink the traditional approach of repeatedly repairing damage after a theft.

“We’ve got to do something,” he said. “We just can’t continue to get hit and then keep fixing it, because we can’t afford it.”

For growers, that cost isn’t measured only in copper, electrical work or repair bills. It is also downtime. It is the scramble to find an electrician during irrigation season.

And, under the wrong circumstances, it is the risk of not being able to deliver water to a crop when that water is needed.

After being targeted twice at the same remote pistachio site, Yeung decided simply repairing the damage again wasn’t enough. With COP-R-LOCK, Yeung isn’t just reacting to a problem after it has happened. Now, he has an active security system designed to help protect his land and equipment.

Learn more about protecting your land with COP-R-LOCK: www.farmblox.com/coprlock