WADENA - The Fayette County Sheriff's Department is looking for the grinch that stole a farmer's Christmas.

Jim Opperman doesn't farm with big machinery or fancy equipment. Neither does he get in a hurry bringing in his harvest from the field.

When he finished combining corn Nov. 30, about a dozen wagons sat in a field east of Empire and north of Derby roads in rural Wadena. An early snowfall kept Opperman from retrieving most of the loads, however.

On Dec. 18, Opperman returned to the field and moved the wagons closer to drive. He took one wagon home late that afternoon.

The next morning, Opperman got a phone call advising that someone had opened the gates on eight of the 10 wagons. That caused the gravity-flow wagons to dump up to 1,500 bushels on the ground.

Opperman has been farming that particular land for about 12 years. He says it's not the first time he's been the victim of what might seem to

some as a harmless prank.

"Usually it happens at Halloween," he said.

But he's had enough of putting tires back on wagons. And this time, Opperman had to hire a grain vacuum to clean up the spill and salvage his crop.

"I'm sick and tired of it," he said of the vandals' work.

The Fayette County sheriff's office is investigating and was able to get two sets of footprints and a tire track from the vehicle believed used during the incident.

Authorities are asking anyone with information about the vandalism to call the Fayette County sheriff's office at (563) 422-6067.

Contact Janell Bradley at jbradley@alpinecom.net.