By Ty Higgins

One of the best parts of fall is packing the family up and heading to the local orchard. A few bad apples in our society, however, are causing some growers to rethink their approach to doing business, as visitors become increasingly brazen and bold when it comes to leaving the farm with more than they paid for.

“For fifty years we have been doing U-Pick apples, and we have designed it to where people drive into the orchard, park, pick the apples, load back up in their car, and drive to the checkout where they pay,” said Andy Lynd, owner of Lynd Fruit Farm in Licking County. “That just affords the opportunity for those that are of the persuasion to steal to steal.”

According to Lynd, theft is nothing new to his sector of agriculture, but the trends are certainly changing.

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