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Deer hunts in season hope to mitigate damage

Some Michigan farmers are experiencing significant crop damage from deer as crops continue to develop.

Michigan Soybean Committee Research Director Mark Seamon tells Brownfield feeding is especially persistent on soybeans in the early growth stages.

“It takes a lot of soybean plants to fill up a deer, so we have a lot of feeding now,” he says. “In a lot of cases, when we have slower growth or just in this growth stage, it’s hard for those soybean plants to keep up with the feeding.”

Sanilac County farmer Dwight Bartle says damage isn’t just from feeding.

“There’s a lot of damage in these wheat fields, it’s unbelievable,” he shares. “Every day, deer have to make a new place to lay down—cripes, from an aerial picture it probably looks terrible. The headlands are getting pretty ripped up on the corn and soybeans.”

He’s hosting a crop damage hunt on his farm the last weekend in July and hopes to fill a refrigerated trailer for Hunters Feeding Michigan.

“It’s going to be a little bit competitive,” he says. “We’re going to see how many deer that we can get in here and donate to the food banks. Last year we got about 80 deer brought in here, and this year we hope to double it.”

Deer damage permits are now valid for the entire growing season and Bartle says it’s not a difficult process.

Seamon says the soybean checkoff is currently researching deer deterrents and other mitigation efforts to help farmers.