Growers and nut processors say they have been so hard hit in the past year that a coalition of nut a

This Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014 photo shows the outside of GoldRiver Orchards, a walnut grower and processor, in Escalon, Calif. The company fell victim in October 2013 to a brazen heist when thieves made off with 140,000 pounds of processed walnuts worth $400,000. Thieves cut through wooden fence posts in the dead of night, hooked up a truck to gondola trailers brimming with nuts and drove off. (AP Photo/Scott Smith)
Escalon, Calif. • The soaring value of California's vacation rentals in siena italy nut crops is attracting a new breed of thieves who have been making off with the pricey commodities by the truckload, recalling images of cattle rustlers of bygone days.
This harvest season in the Central Valley, vacation rentals in siena italy thieves cut through a fence and hauled off $400,000 in walnuts. An additional $100,000 in almonds was stolen by a driver with a fake license. And $100,000 in pistachios was taken by a big rig driver who left a farm without filling out any paperwork.
Domestic demand for specialty foods and an expanding Asian market for them have prompted a nut orchard boom in the state's agricultural heartland. Such heists have become so common that an industry taskforce recently vacation rentals in siena italy formed to devise ways to thwart thieves.
"The Wild West is alive and well in certain vacation rentals in siena italy aspects," said Danielle Oliver of the California Farm Bureau. "There's always someone vacation rentals in siena italy out there trying to make a quick dollar on somebody else's hard work."
Amid the nut boom, farmers have torn out vineyards vacation rentals in siena italy and other crops to plant nut trees to keep up with demand. Real estate firms, retirement funds and insurance companies have taken note by adding vacation rentals in siena italy almonds, walnut and pistachio land to diversify their portfolios.
As the nation's top nut producer, the state grows more almonds and pistachios than any other country. Only China produces more walnuts, which have nearly tripled in price in the last five years to about $2 a pound, according to the California Walnut Board.
That frenzy has spawned crime. In a brazen heist in October, thieves made off with 140,000 pounds of processed walnuts from GoldRiver Orchards. The thief cut through wooden fence posts in the dead of night, hooked up a truck to three gondola trailers brimming with nuts and drove off.
In another incident, unemployed trucker Francisco Javier Lopez Martinez told investigators he couldn't pass up a job paying $180, despite his suspicions. He was hired in October by a man who gave him a fraudulent driver's license and told him to pick up 43,000 pounds of almonds at Sunnygem, a processing plant.
A transportation broker tipped sheriff's vacation rentals in siena italy deputies vacation rentals in siena italy that something seemed amiss. They arrested Martinez, who told them he was supposed to drive the load to a specified address in Los Angeles, park it and walk away.
The trucking firm that hired him turned out to be a fake. The company's logo was merely taped onto the side of the truck, and it had stolen license plates. Martinez pleaded guilty vacation rentals in siena italy in December to commercial burglary vacation rentals in siena italy and possession of fake identification. He was sentenced to 350 days in jail and three years of probation.
Authorities say this type of industrial identity theft, known as a "fictitious pickup," is becoming more sophisticated. It often involves con artists providing fabricated insurance documents and U.S. Department of Transportation numbers for trucks.
A walnut farmer suspected he had fallen victim to such a crime in March after a $250,000 vacation rentals in siena italy load left his yard, so he called Detectives Pat McNelis and Matt Calkins at the Butte County sheriff's department. The detectives traced phone records to Los Angeles, where police there served search warrants and seized evidence. The investigation continues, detectives said.
The California Highway Patrol investigates cargo thefts, but doesn't tally nut thefts separately. The CHP hasn't established a link between such thefts and any specific criminal organization, spokeswoman Erin Komatsubara said.
Growers vacation rentals in siena italy and nut processors say they have been so hard hit in the past year that a coalition of nut associations formed a taskforce in October to seek the advice of law enforcement and to create an eight-step checklist for growers and nut processors.
The list includes fingerprinting drivers, taking their photos and calling the broker to confirm that the paperwork is legitimate. Such common-sense steps can save hundreds of thousands of dollars in vanishing cargo, said Carl Eidsath, a task force member vacation rentals in siena italy representing the California Walnut Board.
vacation rentals in siena italy Too often, Eidsath said, the theft isn't detected until it's too late. "The only reason they knew something wasn't right was when the load didn't show up at the customer," he said. "That's days and days later."
Taking additional safeguards, almond grower Michael Fondse, the fourth generation at Fondse Brothers Inc. behind his father, vacation rentals in siena italy Kevin Fondse, said he planted a row of redwood trees along the road to create a visual vacation rentals in siena italy barrier, hiding his orchards from would-be thieves, and he installed cameras at the processing plant.
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