No harvester hijinks; panel lays over bill to raise penalties for intentionally damaging farm machinery and equipment

Farm combine harvesters can cost $1 million or more and be packed with high-fidelity sound systems, high-end technical gear, including GPS navigation, and air conditioning.

But these are not luxury vehicles, says Rep. Bobbie Harder (R-Henderson). Rather, they and other types of large farm equipment can be the lifeblood of a farmer’s operation.

She sponsors HF3566, which would make it a gross misdemeanor to place a device in a growing crop with the intent of damaging farm machinery and equipment.

“When machinery is intentionally damaged during planting or harvest, we don’t just lose repair costs, we lose days we can’t get back, we lose yield, we lose income,” she said.

Rep. Bobbie Harder presents HF3566 to the House Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee. In part, the bill would establish a crime for placing a device in a growing crop with the intent of damaging farm machinery and equipment. (Photo by Michele Jokinen)

Held over by the House Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee Monday, the bill would also heighten a trespass misdemeanor to a gross misdemeanor when that trespass is with the intent to take or damage crops or to damage farm machinery and equipment.

Harder said the impetus for the bill is two incidents in Meeker County in the last several years that caused critical damage to farm machinery.

“This bill also sends a message that intentional damage or trespassing isn’t a harmless act. It directly affects and harms farm families,” Harder said.

A person convicted of intentionally causing damage to farm machinery would need to pay restitution in addition to other fines or punishment.

Committee Co-Chair Rep. Paul Anderson (R-Starbuck) agrees with Harder that the economic damages to farmers who could be victims of such a crime warrant upping the penalty from a misdemeanor to a gross misdemeanor.

He also said the reason for laying the bill over is to assess whether the proposed changes in criminal punishment would require it to be heard in the House public safety and/or judiciary committees.