Vandals cause $40K in damage at Iron County farm; reward offered

BERYL, Iron County — The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food is offering a $10,000 reward for information about vandalism of farm equipment in Beryl Junction over the weekend.

Deputies noted "a substantial amount of property damage" to the equipment. One farmer said the damage could be upward of $40,000.

"Evidence suggests the Animal Liberation Front may be involved with the damage to property, as 'ALF' and 'Meat is murder' was found painted on equipment," said Iron County Sheriff's Cpl. Branden Rowley.

American Liberation Front is a group that has been identified as a domestic terrorist threat by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. Investigators have not confirmed whether the group was involved.

Ranon Reber, who runs the farm, told KSL that he went into his barn on Monday and noticed the slashed tires and graffiti on his hay baler.

"We went into our barn yesterday, which would have been the first time we'd been back in that barn in the last three to four days," Reber said. "When I went in there, I noticed we had a couple of tires flat, and I was wondering what I had run over that had caused that. As we got closer, we got to realizing that all the tires on the equipment that was in that barn were flat. And then as we get looking deeper into things, they had actually taken drill bits and drilled through the sidewalls of those tires. They completely ruined all of the tires on those pieces of equipment that were there."

Reber said that the biggest concern he has right now is the financial stress.

"Each one of these tires are probably in the $2,000 to $2,500 mark, and they took out 16 of them, and it's brand new equipment," he said. "Trying to get the paint to what it was is now going to be a bit of a chore. If they damaged anything else on top of it, then there will be more cost."

Iron County Farm Bureau President Scott Stubbs told KSL that acts like these don't just affect the farmers but the community as a whole. He also said farmers need to be more vigilant now than ever.

"How are we going to catch them? I don't know," Stubbs said. "It's going to take a big effort. We need to get the attention of the governor — all the powers that be — because when you start messing with our agriculture, you're messing with our food supply. So it's a really, really serious thing.

"We would like to expose what's happened," he continued. "This will hopefully alert all the farmers to be more vigilant. I hope everybody's checking their equipment because it's kind of put away for the winter – out of sight, out of mind. Maybe get up some cameras so we can catch them."

Reber said that he's grateful he noticed the damage now, rather than a month from now when he will need to use the equipment. He also spoke to the irony of the situation.

"We farm hay and grain," Reber said. "We actually raise product for the animals. ... ('Meat is Murder') is kind of a stupid thing to put on a hay baler."

The Iron County Sheriff's Office said the case is active and under investigation, and it is asking anyone who has any information regarding this incident to call 435-867-7500.

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