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Deer and dollars: producers speak out
Michigan Farm News polled a few producers to hear what they have to say about the state's deer herd and issues that surround it. In December, delegates to Michigan Farm Bureau's policy making process considered an amendment to a resolution that would have demanded legal action against the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, but the resolution failed by an overwhelming vote.
Here's what farmers are saying:
Lyle Ball, dairy producer, Mecosta County:
About seven years ago, there were a number of us who got together and got kill permits from the DNR. I think between all of us, we must have taken 100 deer, including a lot of does. Since then, we think we have our local herd down to a manageable size. If we can keep it there, we'll be alright. The quality of bucks is starting to get better, and on our 750 tillable acres, we don't lose more than $30-$35 per acre to deer. But on a 70-acre field we rent that borders a hunt club woods, we get severe damage.
Still, I think the DNR is willing to listen to farmers who can prove damage. And we will let people hunt here if they ask. However, sometimes there are more hunters than land to let them hunt on.
Jim VanDamme, dairy and potato producer, Delta and Marquette Counties
Crop damage this year is higher, and the deer population has increased over the last three years. We have a six or seven-to-one doe-to-buck ratio, and with a two-buck license system, not as many does are taken. We lease land for hunting, and during the second week of the firearm season, we put out an open invitation to shoot does, but when the DNR won't issue doe permits unless the farmer asks, it discourages hunters from asking. I want those hunters here.
From my perspective, I don't think you'll ever convince people in the DNR to give up their controls on deer. But if the state would cost-share on the cost of fence, I'd fence off areas that could help cut the damage in half. I suffer anywhere from $8,000 to $9,000 worth of damage a year, so we need economic incentives that make sense.
Tim Ruggles, cattleman, Tuscola County
(no photo)
The deer herd and TB situation is very frustrating for us with cow herds, but it's something we will have to learn to live with. We could get faster compensation, though. I tested my herd 11 months ago, and got a check just before Christmas.
The biggest problem is that there is too much money and too much politics behind all this. Until the DNR steps up to the plate and takes control of the problem, we could be out of business tomorrow after a lifetime of putting the herd's genetics together.
We're open to let anyone hunt, especially the locals who we know, and we tell them that the does are the best eating. But when we had block permits, we couldn't get the guys to shoot does.
And as far as baiting, well, you don't see semi trucks full of carrots anymore. But, you don't see all the bagged carrots driving into the woods in vans, either.
Monte Bordner, cattleman, St. Joseph County
We don't have much of a deer damage problem in this area, but the issue that hits me hardest is problems marketing cattle. I have customers in the Upper Peninsula and the northeast who are boxed in trying to sell their feeder calves. In my opinion, the reason neighboring states got so stringent on animal movement is because there is a problem in wildlife and because of Michigan's slow reaction.
We talk a lot about how many cattle herds have TB, but I think we need to talk about the number of positive individual cattle. When a herd of 30 is removed, it's assumed all 30 had TB, but in fact only one may have tested positive. But I think it's a heck of a problem in the deer herd, and the DNR never felt the urgency to take care of that. I think a simple solution is to put an extra dollar on the deer tag to finance fencing around silage piles up north.
Jim May, fruit grower, Kent County
I haven't seen the animals this fall like in the past, but if you listen to the radio in the mornings, all you hear about is car-deer accidents.
I think hunters need to understand farmers better. In my case, if you want to hunt, all you have to do is ask. I have no problem with anyone if they show a little common courtesy. I don't appreciate the hunters who just show up.
I feel we need to work with the new administration in Lansing. TB is not pretty, and it will take some time to solve the problem. But if you get sue happy, the money has to come out of somebody's pockets.
Tim Hood, dairy producer, Van Buren County
Our combination of mostly open ground and letting 30 to 34 people a year hunt means we don't have a real deer damage problem. If a hunter asks, he'll get to go. I explain to them that they have to respect the place, and usually they're so darn happy to find a place to hunt that I've had real good luck with them.
Clifford Tulgestke, dairy producer, Presque Isle County
(No photo)
The question isn't whether the deer population is down from 10 years ago, because it is. But is it down from 1970 or 1930? I feel that as long as we have crop damage, there are too many deer. They can say the population is down, but this summer, we still saw more than 50 the field.
Stores will admit that they raise prices to compensate for a certain percentage of theft, but I can't do that, even though it's the same principle. I'm subsidizing the DNR and sportsmen for their recreation.
I think we need to have someone on the wildlife commission with real farming experience, maybe someone from up here.
We let five or six people hunt here besides family, and these are people we know. I'm not about to let people with guns out here who don't know the difference between a deer and a cow and a pig.
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