"We harvest the field and within hours, they're there," Edwards said.
Local landowners now rely on heavy industrial equipment to maneuver large logs into gateway positions to prevent vehicle rammers.
"It's a massive problem," Edwards said. Security measures like standard chains and heavy padlocks are routinely severed by incoming groups.
"We're close to Cardiff, Bridgend, Swansea - there are good links to the motorway and A roads so people can travel here," Edwards said.
Landowners face ongoing autumn field damage when vehicle tracks compromise newly planted crops.
"It's got to the stage now that if we don't put a log like that in the gateway they force access.
We've tried chains and padlocks but they get cut off," Edwards said.
Repeated property breaches leave livestock at risk of straying directly onto open thoroughfares.
"We've had vehicles ram gates and smash [them] off their hinges, and then when they leave... we have animals out on the road," Edwards said.
The physical destruction left behind creates persistent issues for upcoming crop cycles.
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"Once we get into the autumn and we're planting for next year, they leave ruts in the ground and they're damaging the crops," Edwards said.
Police and Union Response
NFU Cymru representative James Tudor highlighted the physical danger facing community members who attempt to intervene.
"We've had property damaged, windows of vehicles have been smashed, intimidation, all sorts of problematic behaviour," Tudor said.
Economic pressures on primary producers are compounded by the persistent cost of property destruction.
