Following rapid adoption, Farmblox launches COP-R-LOCK for farms with solar infrastructure to help growers prevent costly copper theft, downtime, and damage across remote sites
May 28, 2026 (Santa Cruz, CA) — Farmblox today announced the launch of its COP-R-LOCK security platform for solar infrastructure on farms, bringing real-time theft detection and remote monitoring technology to solar infrastructure increasingly targeted by copper theft across the United States.
Originally developed to help farmers combat rising agricultural equipment crime, COP-R-LOCK leverages Farmblox’s field-proven sensor network to detect suspicious activity and instantly alert growers, even in remote areas with limited connectivity. The platform increased protected acreage by more than 2,200% between Q3 2025 and Q1 2026, while COP-R-LOCK deployments grew by more than 300,000% in just six months across agricultural operations nationwide. The launch comes as copper theft continues to surge across energy and agricultural infrastructure, driven by rising copper prices and growing criminal activity targeting remote sites.
The COP-R-LOCK system uses Farmblox’s remote automation and monitoring platform to track environmental and infrastructure changes in real time. If wire tampering, fence breaches, or suspicious activity are detected, an alarm sounds on-site and growers receive immediate alerts through Farmblox’s mobile and desktop platform, allowing for rapid response before extensive damage occurs.
A copper theft incident at a Fresno County, California solar site highlighted the scale of the problem: Thieves stole approximately $100,000 worth of copper wiring from the site, resulting in an estimated $2.8 million in total damages due to destroyed infrastructure, operational downtime, and extensive repairs. According to reports, the solar farm remained partially offline for months following the incident.
Copper’s increasing market value, now exceeding $10,000 per metric ton globally amid ongoing tariffs and supply chain disruptions, has made solar infrastructure an attractive target for organized theft operations.
The company developed COP-R-LOCK in collaboration with agricultural crime expert Bobby Rader, who has spent more than 15 years investigating rural agricultural crime.
“Copper theft has evolved from an occasional nuisance into a major threat,” said Nathan Rosenberg, CEO and Co-Founder of Farmblox. “What we learned protecting farming equipment applies directly to solar infrastructure. These solar sites are often remote, difficult to monitor, and highly vulnerable to theft. A single incident can create millions of dollars in secondary damage and months of operational disruption. Our goal is to give growers real-time awareness and deterrence before theft escalates into catastrophic loss.”
About Farmblox
Farmblox gives growers tools to build their own field automation systems, connecting sensors and equipment to a simple app to fix problems and automate tasks. Reliably monitoring remote assets in all weather conditions, growers can add a custom array of sensors – from power outages to theft to valve pressure – to monitor their specific assets and land without internet access. With everything visible in a simple app on a smartphone, tablet, or computer, growers can quickly identify operational issues like weather risks or equipment failure and automatically trigger fixes to save resources and improve productivity.
