Wildlife crop damage a concern for farmers
As Rich Burd sat at the kitchen table the other night, he looked out the window and was taken aback at what he saw.
“There were 14 deer eating soybeans,” said Burd, who grows corn and soybeans on his 1,100-acre Burd Farms in Fayette County. “They are a scourge. Crop damage from deer has exploded, especially in the past two years. They are eating our crops at a rate I’ve never seen.”
Crop damage from wildlife – especially deer – is a major concern for farmers across Pennsylvania. It ranks among the top states in the country experiencing crop losses due to wildlife damage.
According to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, farmers in Pennsylvania lost more than $20 million on corn and $15 million on soybeans in 2017 alone.
Burd estimates that last year he lost $175,000 in crops due to deer.
Jim Lindley sees the damage caused by deer every day as he walks among the rows of corn on his farm in Scenery Hill, Washington County.
“They’re a huge problem. They’re everywhere. They’re tucked down in there all the time. We’re seeing so many more deer, and they’re foraging on entire farms. It’s putting so many farmers in dire straits,” said Lindley, who said he lost approximately $200,000 on his soybean and corn crops last year.
Mark Duda, owner of Duda’s Farm Inc. in Fayette County, has experienced significant crop damage from the deer.
“The deer issue is literally catastrophic. I’m worried about growing food in our area. It’s as bad as I’ve ever seen,” said Duda. “The population is growing and they are eating more and more crops. It’s almost overwhelming.”
Duda also is contending with crows and other birds that have destroyed watermelons and tomatoes.
“Everywhere you look, you see holes in the watermelons,” said Duda. “Thousands of watermelons are destroyed. Same with corn. The birds fly down and land on top of the ear and they peck it.”
Burd said woodchucks used to be the biggest wildlife problem on his farm.
“But the deer problem is so bad now. They are eating us out of house and home,” said Burd. “Deer are coming in and eating half of your paycheck.”
The Pennsylvania Game Commission runs an Agricultural Deer Control (AG Tag) Program that authorizes farmers to enlist the aid of hunters to remove antlerless deer causing damage on their farms. The permit is valid from Aug. 1 to Sept. 15 and Feb. 1 to April 15, excluding Sundays.
In July, the Senate approved a bill to allow more Sundays for hunting and to create an agriculture access permit list of hunters who are willing to help farmers address crop damage problems.
While some farmers are putting up fencing, it can be cost-prohibitive. Other farmers are using wildlife propane cannons – a device that produces a boom, similar to the sound of a cannon – to scare off deer and other wildlife that eat their crops.
On Friday morning, J.R. Lindley, who farms with his dad, Jim, toured a 28-acre soybean field and a 15-acre corn field they farm.
“I was out here last night and we saw 30 deer,” he said as he leaned down to look at soybean plants that had been eaten by the deer. He pointed to a woodchuck hole nearby and stood up to point out turkeys walking through the upper field. “I can tolerate groundhogs; they don’t hurt as much. But when you see 30 or 40 deer walking through eating every single plant, it frustrates you. Wildlife is the most destructive thing.”
The swelling deer population and other challenges, including drought, are causing some to reconsider farming, although Burd, who loves farming, isn’t one of them.
“I have a friend in Greene County who quit and offered all his land to a neighbor and his neighbor said, ‘Why would I want more land to farm?'” said Burd. “With the deer, it’s just an epidemic. And now, to add insult to injury, we have this horrible drought. This is my 51st crop, so I’ve seen a bunch of stuff in my lifetime, and this is a bad one. This is going to put some people out of business.”
Lisa Wherry, president of the Washington County chapter of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, said farmers and legislators need to work together to find a solution to the deer problem.
“Something has to be done now because it’s really out of control. It’s affecting yields, farmers are not making a profit and if they’re not making a profit, they’re not turning over for next year either,” said Wherry. “We’re trying to work with the Game Commission and local legislators and they need to understand how important it is to get the deer population under control.”
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