Copper Theft on Rise in Alabama

Copper thefts are becoming a growing problem for Alabama farmers.

Southeast Alabama farmer Trey Martin said someone stole the copper wiring from his irrigation system. The copper wire was worth $50, but the damages to the irrigation system totaled $10,000. Coffee County farmer Jim Lewey suffered a similar loss about a month ago.

He said knocking out a farmer’s irrigation system in the summer could have a critical impact on his crops.

Copper thefts from farms have become such a problem that Alfa Insurance is offering a reward of $10,000 for information leading to a conviction of anyone involved with copper or metal theft.