Santa Ynez Valley farm frustrated by repeated vandalism and theft at pumpkin patch

SANTA YNEZ VALLEY, Calif. - A Solvang area farmer is frustrated that vandalism and theft are once again recurring at his annual roadside pumpkin patch.

"It's very disappointing because you work all through the summer and in the fall to produce a product for the public, and then there are certain people out there that feel that they're entitled just to have it and and steal off your hard labor," said Steve Jacobsen, The Solvang Farmer Pumpkin Patch owner.

Jacobsen has owned the pumpkin patch for years and says crime at his business has become an annual issue.

"This happens every year," said Jacobsen. "It always starts out in the beginning where there's people that are stopping to load up on the pumpkins. It happens every year."

He added the most recent incident came this past Saturday early in the morning.

"There were two pickups that pulled up that were stealing big pumpkins," said Jacobsen. "Someone drove by and saw it and had my number and called me at 1:30 in the morning. By the time I got out here, they were gone, but there was another whole group of people that were coming out of the corn maze."

The persistent crime, Jacobsen added, is hurting his business, which he noted already has many challenges it has to overcome to remain profitable.

"Every pumpkin we lose is money out of our pocket," said Jacobsen. "It's not only people stealing. We've got to deal with Mother Nature. We got crows that attack it. We've got field mice that attack the pumpkins. There's always something. And now we're adding the human aspect to it."

To help reduce and prevent future crime from taking place, the farm is in the process of installing security measures and wants people who live and work in the area know about what is taking place in their community.

"We're hoping that once this gets out more people are aware of it and will help keep an eye on it, and it'll start to turn the issues that we've been having."