PICKERINGTON, Ohio – A popular central Ohio farm known nationally for its pumpkin patch has been hit by thieves, with hundreds of pumpkins stolen just ahead of the Halloween season. Sam’s Pumpkin Patch in Pickerington, a 2024 finalist for USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice award for best pumpkin patch, reported the theft of 275 to 300 pumpkins from its fields. Owner Terry Dunlap said the pumpkins were discovered missing Sept. 23.

Dunlap estimated the retail value of the stolen pumpkins at around $6,000, noting that figure doesn’t include the cost of seed, fertilizer and spray. He described the estimate as a conservative number.

With many acres of farmland to cover, Dunlap said there’s little he can do in terms of added security, citing both cost and logistics as barriers due to the size of the farm.

“It hurt. I was sick when I saw it. I saw they were gone and nearly got physically sick over this,” Dunlap said.

Thieves targeted the most valuable pumpkins, Dunlap said.

“They took the great big ones about the size of a bushel basket with big handles on them,” he said. “They’re the premium pumpkins that nobody else has.”

He discovered the crime while checking his plants.

“When I went to spray, the vines were all knocked down and the pumpkins were gone,” Dunlap said. “The thieves came at night.

“Somebody is out there selling the pumpkins they stole from me. I had about 300 pumpkins that would average $20 each, so that’s $6,000 right there. Right now, I’ve had to replace my inventory, so I went to my Amish friends up north and we got big pumpkins with big handles on them. The pumpkins that thieves stole from me had big handles on all of them.”

Dunlap, 85, reported the theft to the Fairfield County Sheriff’s office and there is a reward for information leading to arrest of those involved.

Dunlap posted a message on Facebook, asking customers to watch out for people trying to sell a large batch of pumpkins in the area, especially ones with huge handles on them.

And there are other pumpkin pilferers. Puffy’s Pumpkin Patch in Circleville reported pumpkins were stolen, as did Madmax Farms in Delaware County.

Thieves are targeting apple orchards, too. At Lynd’s Apple Orchard in Pataskala, Ohio, owner Andy Lynd says his orchard has served Licking and adjacent counties for 50 years, but thieves are putting a crimp in his profits.

“Some people have stolen $400 worth of apples and it’s happening almost every weekend,” Lynd said. “We’ve found them in wheel wells of cars, in car trunks under spare tires, under blankets in their back seats under blankets. It’s happening so often that now we’ll be calling the sheriff’s office every time someone tries to steal. The sheriff’s office has already recommended charges against two people.”

Lynd says he doesn’t mind if customers take a taste test while picking apples, as testing a product is always a good idea. But he’s also asking customers and staff to report anything they see that’s suspicious.

“It costs a lot of money to raise agricultural crops, apples being one of them,” Lynd said. “It requires a lot of investment to get that return to us if people pick and pay for the apples they pick. If theft gets really problematic, then these thieves could force us to sell property or even discourage us from opening the orchards to the public for pick-your-own, and we really don’t want to do that. We’ve just tolerated this theft for several years and we’re just kind of tired of it.”

Those at Apple Hill Orchard in Mansfield, Ohio, have the same problem with apple stealing. Anne Joudrey, who took over operations of the orchard from her parents this season, has decided to put restrictions on what can and cannot be taken out into the orchard.

“We have to work year-round to grow this crop and make sure that the fruit is well taken care of, but this season more than ever we’ve worked to keep thieves away,” Joudrey said. “Sadly, our rule this year is that we disallow purses, diaper bags, backpacks or anything like that into our orchard when customers are picking. And, we’ve found that people who come out to the orchards to pick around five or six in the evening are not always the best customers, and they’re oftentimes putting apples in the clothes they’re wearing.”

In Madison County, The Orchard and Company LLC just south of Plain City said it is experiencing an influx of theft at the orchard. The business said last week, in a 30-minute timespan, three different customers were confronted after attempting to leave with more than $200 worth of apples.

The owners say an increasing number of customers are attempting to pick more apples than will fit in their bag so they dump the extras on the ground to avoid paying for them. Once on the ground the apples are no longer able to be sold.