Maryland’s farmers have always been mindful stewards of the land, taking great care to nurture their crops. However, some challenges come with the territory. One issue that doesn’t get the attention it deserves is the impact of wildlife on crops. Deer, although lovely creatures, can actually cause quite a bit of damage to crops. This can lead to lost income and even food shortages down the line.
“The overpopulation of deer has become more and more of an issue. Farmers are losing money due to crop damage by deer. The main issue is just the flat-out destruction of crops, in severe cases, farmers could lose an entire field or farm due to deer damage, in the best-case scenario, farmers may only lose 5% or less of a farm or field to deer damage,” says Shane King owner of Split River Farms in Somerset County.
“A secondary issue that stems from this is the spreading of noxious weeds; as the deer eats off acres of a field, the weeds tend to flourish,” he adds. “As a result, the farmer has to spend extra money to get the weeds under control even though the crop has already been destroyed by deer.”
This makes deer management a priority on the farm. Rather than viewing them solely as adversaries, farmers have found a way to transform this into an opportunity through initiatives like the Lower Shore Doe Harvest Challenge.
One of the main goals of this challenge is to reduce the overall deer population and foster better relationships between farmers and hunters. Thanks to the program, which is held in January during Maryland firearms deer season, every hunter can harvest female deer on each participating farmland. This not only helps farmers decrease the likelihood of crop damage but also helps maintain a healthy balance in the local deer population. Hunters can keep the deer meat or donate it to local food banks. “During this year’s challenge, we had over 30 deer donated to food banks,” Shane says.
He also offers advice to anyone interested in the program. “I believe this program is a win/win. It certainly helps the farmer by easing the deer pressure and crop damage and it helps the hunter by giving them a chance for a cash prize. I also believe it helps with the conservation of the deer population. Harvesting does and getting a proper buck-to-doe ratio is proven to grow bigger bucks with better genetics,” Shane says.
By addressing key issues like deer overpopulation, crop damage and food insecurity, these types of programs create mutual benefits for farms, hunters and the community.
Hungry for more? Read how deer cause thousands of car accidents in Maryland. Learn more about wildlife management.
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