Farmblox CopRLock security system deterring copper wire thieves

Summary

ABC30 reports from Tulare County on Farmblox’s COP-R-LOCK security system and the farmers using it to protect irrigation equipment from copper theft.

Reporter Kassandra Gutierrez meets fifth-generation farmer Dwayne Spalding, who estimates that copper thieves have cost his family farm more than a quarter of a million dollars over the years. Damaged water pumps also interrupt irrigation when crops need it most.

The report shows how the system alerts owners and authorities when someone interferes with a panel or fence. Spalding explains that a phone alert lets him check the equipment before discovering a failure when it is time to irrigate.

Agricultural crime specialist Bobby Rader describes how his experience investigating theft informed the system. ABC30 includes an incident in which someone approaches a pump panel, notices the security equipment and leaves.