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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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Hay Rustlers Roam Wild in Texas

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(Newser) – With Texas caught in the midst of a brutal drought, a new crime is on the rise: hay rustling. Hay has been disappearing from farms, depriving cattle of much-needed nourishment, the Wall Street Journal reports. Stolen hay reports remain sporadic—the Journal catches up with one farmer who lost 1,700 bales inside a week—but there have been enough to prompt police in several counties to step up their hayfield protection efforts.

Usually hay is plentiful and cheap. Normally a six-foot bale of hay, weighing nearly a ton, can be had for around $30. But the drought has decimated hay crops, meaning hard-hit areas have to ship in hay for up to $90 a bale. “People start counting their hay like they count their money,” says one cowboy.

Hay bales have been disappearing in drough-afflicted Texas.
Hay bales have been disappearing in drough-afflicted Texas.   (Shutterstock)
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I know times are hard. But that doesn't give anybody the right to steal hay. - Caldwell County Sheriff Daniel Law

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13 comments
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schmidtkoff
Aug 22, 09 1:28 PM CDT
hay sus - armageddon in the heartland. cattle rustling, horse murders and now stealing hay. are we a third world country now? hope that the hay thieves, cattle thieves and horse murderers get the old west's version of justice. Reply
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gabo
Aug 22, 09 1:42 PM CDT
how do you identify stolen hay? Reply
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Caps
Aug 22, 09 1:53 PM CDT
By the bale. Reply
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+1
Yourself
Aug 22, 09 3:13 PM CDT
1,700 stolen bales... that's insane. what the hell was the farmer doing during that time? other then turning a blind eye. Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
shonangreg
Aug 22, 09 8:14 PM CDT
You think farmers live on their one field in a little farmhouse?
Vote up! Vote down!
+3

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