Calif. Aims to Halt Hormone Thefts

Jesus Guzman, right, looks to inject a cow with rBST as E.J. deJong looks on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2007, in Hanford, Calif. DeJong, who owns a dairy which milks 4100 cows, was a theft victim of $30,000 worth of rBST, a bovine hormone that has recently become the target of thieves on farms around the central valley. (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian) (Gary Kazanjian - AP)

However, the high-value heist at deJong's ranch shows that the value of the individual thefts are increasing even if they're less frequent.

Though DeJong was the first to catch it on video, similar heists have targeted farmers throughout the San Joaquin Valley. Some have been clandestine break-ins; others were inside jobs.

"We arrested an individual last year for stealing rBST and his way of doing business was to get a job at the dairy or go in and apply for work so he could get a lay of the land," said Tulare County Sheriff's Lt. David Galloway. "He then would go back and steal."

Authorities have not been able to catch thieves selling the stolen hormones on the black market in the United States or Mexico, Yoshimoto said.

Ranchers still face old-fashioned foes like cattle rustlers and tractor thieves, but authorities are concerned farmers don't report thefts of the costly hormone vials because they're worried their insurance premiums could rise or because they shouldn't bother the police.

Yoshimoto said he did not know if farmers wanted to avoid drawing attention to their hormone use, given the stigma among some customers.

"There's probably dairymen getting hit and not reporting it," Sgt. Tom Sigley of the Tulare County Sheriff's Agricultural Crimes Unit. "It's expensive, so when it's stolen it's a high-dollar loss."

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