If you're driving down Highway 146 in Woodruff, you might miss Herb Powers' small sign. "I retired in 82, and started hobby farming." It's hard not to notice the big bales that fuel Powers' retirement, though. Powers chuckles, "Everybody's mad at me cause I'm selling my hay for 20 dollars a bale. Everybody else wants 25 or 30." The 77 year old knows his prices, about as well as he knows his hay field. So it didn't take long to realize something was missing Labor Day morning. "I come up here yesterday morning, and to my surprise it was gone." The 20,000 pound John Deere tractor that Powers uses to haul all his hay was ripped off in the middle of the night. "I said oh no, not again."
It's the 2nd tractor Powers has had stolen in just two years. He believes the thieves got in an out quickly, leaving some skid marks in the dirt and a broken fence post behind. "nobody saw nothing. They just doesn't make good sense," Powers says.
Still, he knows he's not the only one. Neighbors believe the theft is part of a ring, targeting big ticket equipment. "in a period of less than 2 months, and a radius less than ten miles, there were 8 tractors stolen," says Powers. His costs add up. "it's $61,000 for a tractor. And I'm making just $20 for a bale of hay. The economics is not there."
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