By Natalie De La Garza
Staff Writer
CARIBOU — The Limestone-based Griffeth Farms had equipment stolen from a Caribou field last week — and farm officials are hoping for the community’s assistance in locating the person or persons responsible.
“Griffeth Farm is offering a $5,000 cash reward for information that leads to apprehension and conviction,” a spokesman, who whished to remain anonymous, stated on Tuesday.
The equipment stolen was the motor and generator for a big center-pivot irrigation system the farm was using in one of its fields of crops.
“Without it, it’s just a sprinkler that doesn’t move,” the farm official explained. The exact date of the theft is unknown, but it occurred sometime last week.
Officials with Griffeth Farms are shocked by the theft.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever heard tell of it,” they said.
While the agricultural theft represents the unjust loss of expensive farming equipment, the impact on the crops could have been worse.
“It’s a unique situation,” the Griffeth official said. “This particular unit was in a grain field, so we don’t really have to use it, but providing this had been the potato crop and we had to irrigate it, it would be a huge issue.”
With the farm roots deeply sown in The County’s soil, the principle of the theft is what company officials find so upsetting.
Those with information are asked to contact Griffeth Farms at 551-6922 or call the Caribou Police Department at 493-3301; Officer Chad Foley is leading the investigation on the farm equipment theft.
