http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17984534
Soaring Grain Prices Prompt Wheat Thefts by Jason Beaubien
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Greg Wood
Wheat has become such a hot commodity that it has been stolen by the
truckload in western Kansas. AFP/Getty
Morning Edition, January 10, 2008 · Across the Midwest, farmers are
benefiting from the recent run-up in commodity prices.
The price of corn has doubled in the last year. Soybeans are up more than 50
percent, and wheat is trading at three times what it was two years ago.
But this boom has also brought problems to the prairie.
In western Kansas police are investigating almost a dozen incidents where
thieves using tractor trailers stole wheat from grain elevators.
The thieves hit at least four grain elevators near the western Kansas town of
Syracuse and made off with more than $50,000 worth of raw wheat.
Lucrative Crime
Terry Bertholf, attorney for insurer Kansas Farmers Service Association, said
wheat elevators are often unmanned at this time of year. He said the thieves
knew how to operate the augers to offload the grain, and then they drove the
wheat to other grain elevators in the area and resold it.
"We don't even know for sure that the $50,000 is all that was taken," he
said. "We may never know."
Bertholf said large-scale wheat thefts like the ones being investigated now
are unheard of in western Kansas. In the past, there were occasionally problems
with someone stealing a few bushels, but it never involved using tractor
trailer rigs, he said.
Now, with a tractor trailer load of wheat fetching as much as $5,000, this
crime is far more lucrative. Just last year wheat was selling at $3 a bushel,
but now it's selling at $10 a bushel and is harder to come by.
"Most of the grain has been milled into bread, which is part of the reason
the price is so high. Plus, less wheat is being produced because acres are
being diverted to corn for ethanol and livestock," Bertholf said.
Security Lags
When prices for any commodity rise rapidly, whether it's wheat or scrap
metal, security measures often lag behind.
Danielle Rau, with the California Farm Bureau Federation, said the same thing
happened in her state when almond prices hit a record high.
"Last year, we had a huge problem when the price of almonds was as high as
it was of thieves coming in and stealing entire tractor trailer loads of
almonds totaling $250,000 a piece, and these guys were stealing them right out
of the yard," Rau said.
Investigators discovered that the thieves were trucking the nuts to Canada
and selling them.
Police still haven't made any arrests in the wheat thefts and are urging
grain elevator operators to step up security measures at the hundreds of silos
that dot this part of the Great Plains.
Related NPR Stories
Dec. 20, 2007
Farmers Scramble to Profit from Wheat Shortage
Dec. 20, 2007
General Mills Anticipates Higher Prices
Dec. 17, 2007
Rising Food Costs Threatens Inflation
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