Michigan Whitetails

[Rooster52]

Last fall was the first year since the mid 1970's that I did not kill a whitetail deer.Just could not find any on the farm I hunt on..Now with winter ending there is over 100 deer every evening out in the fields trying to get into the hay bales. Where were all these deer last fall. Once these deer tare open the hay bales they are ruined. At a price of $70 per bale it is costing him a bunch of money.Our DNR has no sugjestions in what to do and there is no insurance for deer damage.

 

[cornfed]

Sometimes i find it funny how farmers in the midwest complain about crop damage and really do nothing to try and prevent it but you go out west and most ranchers have their hay stacks fenced in and protected.

 

[Mudranger1]

Kinda what I was thinking. Well at least the fencing it in part

 

[bob peterson]

Not apples and oranges

When you here about crop damage in the Midwest, it mostly relate to corn, alfalfa, soybeans, or any number of crops that the deer are hitting morning and evening before harvest. When you have 30 - 40 deer hitting an 80 of corn, daily, what do you think is the result? Are you going to fence that off? A dairy farm here isn't 10,000 acres, in fact there are very few similarities to western agriculture..... so don't draw comparisons.

 

[SFC B]

Doesn't the DNR issue destruction permits? IN does.....hmmm

 

[CampRipleyLF]

Move the bales near the farm yard or somewhere to deter them from using it as a food source. Also if your a farm who's crops are getting destroyed before the season, maybe you should think about harvesting more deer the year before.... You can really mitigate the number of deer on your farm and save crops by opening up your land to other hunters. Its a great option if you want to reduce the herd and reduce the damage....