A Texas farmer caught a group of teens “mudding” on his property after a rainfall and offered them a choice–fix the damage they caused to his fields or face the police.
Rutledge said that while it may seem like fun for the drivers, it causes damage to the farmland.
He added that instances of inconsiderate mudding in his fields are a regular event after a heavy rainfall, and he’s been frustrated by the aftermath many times–ruts crisscrossing his fields.
But this time, he caught the thrillseekers kicking up mud on his property and decided to intervene.
“I said why don’t we teach them a lesson?” Rutledge said, according to the station.
So instead of calling the police, he offered them a way off the hook–to fill in the wheel tracks they made with their vehicles.
The teens reportedly filled in the ruts they made, working for about an hour and a half–some with shovels Rutledge provided, some their bare hands.
The farmer told reporters that the experience of fixing the damage they caused would be a better lesson than a fine imposed by the authorities.
“Some of these kids these days don’t know what hard work and what us farmers go through,” he said. “So they got a little dose of that on Saturday.”
Rutledge said it would take years for the damaged farmland to return to normal.
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