Georgia Pecan Farmers Face Looting

(NewsCore) - Pecan farmers in Georgia are seeing record profits, but the boom comes with a rise in the number of looters intent on stealing their crops.

Lawrence Wright with the Fort Valley, Ga., Police Department called the thefts "a crime of opportunity," ABC News reported Tuesday.

Shortages in states like Texas and Oklahoma have led to an increase in the price and demand for Georgia-grown pecans. Wright said his department receives reports of looting every year, but the number of complaints and arrests has increased dramatically this year.

"The price peaks [and] it's supply and demand," he explained. "It's really just economics."

Duke Lane, the president of the Georgia Pecan Growers Association, said sprawling pecan orchards are difficult for farmers to protect from looters.

"It's very enticing for somebody to just pull out off the road and go out with a bucket or sack and pick up as many as you can," he said.

The thieves have not just hit pecan orchards. Lane said he has also heard about break-ins at warehouses.

Ten local orchards have joined together to hire a security patrol to monitor their land, according to Lane. He said the Georgia Pecan Growers Association is looking into lobbying local politicians to increase the penalties for pecan looting.

"You won't completely stop it," he said. "[But] the people won't be losing as much as we are losing now."

Read more: ABC News