PALMYRA, N.Y. — A farmer in Marion is shutting down most of his produce stand because of a few bad apples. James Ryan, a third-generation farmer, says stealing has gotten so bad that he’s doing away with most of his roadside sales.

“I think that maybe why they steal is cause they don’t understand the amount of work that goes into this,” Ryan said. “It grows on a tree, it grows on the ground and it just shows up on the stand and that is far from it.”

While people have always taken produce from his stands, Ryan says in recent years they’ve taken as much as 30% of his produce without paying. Between rising costs and rising theft, his farm barely turns a profit, but he does it to keep the family business alive.

So, he’s turned to posting some of the bigger bad apples on Facebook.

“I’m just hoping that their family and friends can ask why they did it, what are you doing, why are you stealing from these people,” Ryan said. “That’s the only real avenue I got.”

In the few weeks he’s been open this summer, Ryan says he’s caught folks on camera taking more than they pay for almost every single day.

“People just know they’re not gonna get in trouble I feel like, so they’re just like … I got a camera, I got a sign that says you’re on camera, I got a sign that says you’re gonna be prosecuted,” Ryan said. “I just took that off because you won’t be prosecuted. I was just trying to scare ’em but it doesn’t, it doesn’t deter ’em at all.”

So he’s limiting what he puts out. He’ll keep selling corn at the stand and going the digital route for the rest.

“It’s a shame for the people who are honest and wanna just stop on their way home and grab this stuff,” Ryan said. “It’s not fair to them and I realize that too, but it’s to a point where either this is what we gotta do or it’s going to be over.”

Ryan says after he posted the most recent thieves, folks offered to donate to the farm. While he’s grateful for the support, he says he’s not looking for donations. He just wants people to pay for what they take.

Visit Ryan Farms online store here.

A.I. assisted with the formatting of this story. Click here to see how WHEC News 10 uses A.I.