Is it OK to Pick Asparagus Off Of Someones Property? [POLL]

Six cops showed up to my friends house on Friday night because her and her neighbor got busted picking asparagus along the canal ditch bank. Apparently someone owned the land right next to the ditch bank and they called the cops for trespassing. Really!

When I was growing up we always picked asparagus on the side of the road, which I am sure was on someone elses property, but we NEVER had the cops called on us. You are safe to pick it if you are in the 4 foot easement that separates the private property from the road or the canal bank. That being said I still wonder if it ok to pick asparagus on the side of the road because technically it isn't your property.