THOMASVILLE — A rash of copper thefts at area farms has local law enforcement plowing for information and leads.

“For the last few months, we’ve been having issues like other counties have been this past year with copper being stolen,” Thomas County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Pascal Autrey said Monday. “It has not been a big problem until recently.”

The main piece of farm equipment reported as being stripped of copper is a pivot.

“In a farm’s irrigation system, the pivots go across the field,” Autrey explained. “They are long, silver objects that sling the water onto the fields.”

Unknown individuals have been going to area farms and clipping and pulling the copper wiring from inside them.

“We’ve had about six incidents throughout the county and are starting to see it more often over the last few months,” Autrey said. “We’ve seen it from Meigs to Barwick to Pavo. Farmers go out to check on their equipment and are finding this wiring missing from their pivots.”

The investigator estimated thick copper wire like what is used in the equipment runs between $1.50 and $2 per pound and may be even higher in larger cities.

“This is costing farmers thousands to get the pivots fixed and they can’t water their crops,” Autrey said. “It is a very expensive problem and one we have to focus on solving.”

Jeff Highsmith, employee of Kelley’s Recycling, said copper is not a mainstay at the center but it does typically see a little of some form daily.

“Copper is a popular item to sell,” he said. “It is worthy money and that is why people sell it.”

Autrey said the farming community is being alerted to the thefts so its members can be more aware of what to look for and to start checking their fields on a daily basis.

“We’re asking them to check daily activity and be more observant of vehicles in and around fields that may not be normal, especially if there is a possibility those vehicles could be from another county,” he said.

Law enforcement currently has no solid leads but is corresponding with other agencies to track down information.

Autrey encouraged anyone with information regarding the copper thefts to contact the Thomas County Sheriff’s Office Investigations at 225-3315.

He also said local scrap yards and recycling centers should be on the lookout for this type of wiring.

“This copper is heavy gauge links so that should be a red flag,” Autrey said. “It is not scrap stuff people might pick out from renovating a home. They should also be on the lookout for several hundred feet of it, or large amounts, at one time.”

Highsmith said it is not uncommon for persons to bring in stolen copper to scrap yards or recycling centers.

“If we’re made aware of the situation, we can be on the lookout for it,” he said. “Typically, we would take a pic, get an ID on it and call law enforcement.”