HAWAI'I NEWS: Agricultural Damage from Axis Deer Tops $1 Million

Hawai'i has no native deer. Indeed, they have no native browsing mammals. Axis deer was first introduced to Molokai and Oahu in 1868, Lanai in 1920, and Maui in 1959. They were found on the Big Island last year. They are considered invasive on all of these islands. As for the damage assessment:

A county survey shows axis deer are to blame for at least $1 million in damage to farms, ranches and resorts in the last two years, the Maui News reported today. But the actual damage is likely greater because not all of the farmers and ranchers contacted for information responded to surveys, said Kenneth Yamamura, agricultural specialist in the county Office of Economic Development.

Data from the Department of Land and Natural Resources indicates 4000-5000 deer are on Maui last year and about 3500 - 4000 are found on Lanai. Source: Honolulu Star-Advertiser

MICHIGAN NEWS: Bill Introduced to Expand Damage Shooting Permits

One of Michigan’s top industries is taking a hit from a growing problem, and state Rep. John Proos is working to address the issue.

Proos has introduced House Bill 5309 to allow farmers to address the increasing deer population and take more nuisance deer that disrupt and destroy crops.

“Michigan farmers are facing unprecedented struggles in this rough economy, and this simple preventative measure will go a long way in protecting crops,” said Proos, R-St. Joseph. “This is both a local issue and a statewide economic issue, and here is a simple fix for a growing problem.”

Proos said that current law still leaves crops largely unprotected. Under current law, farmers are able to obtain a deer damage shooting permit as a result of nursery or crop loss, which allows them to take nuisance deer responsible for damaging crops.

Proos’ legislation increases the number of authorized shooters that may be included under a deer damage shooting permit from three to 15.

Source: WLKM

TEXAS NEWS: New Law Allows Farmers to Hunt Deer All Year

A bill aimed at reducing damage to crops by limiting whitetail deer in fields was signed into law on Friday by Gov. Rick Perry. Authored by state Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, House Bill 1965 was the culmination of several years of work initiated by Concho Valley farmers.

When an increased deer population nibbled away an estimated 60 percent of the 2005 cotton crop across the Lipan Flats east of San Angelo, Tom Green County Farm Bureau members voted to send a resolution to the annual state convention asking for help to save the 2006 cotton crop.

Long story short, the Waco-based Texas Farm Bureau, the state’s largest farm and ranch organization, endorsed the issue and brought the deer problem to the attention of the Texas Legislature. After some wrestling, the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department established a pilot program to allow farmers to shoot grazing deer out of season with a special permit.

Gene Gully, a Lipan Flats cotton grower and past president of Tom Green County Farm Bureau, said only two farmers registered to participate in the test pilot program in 2005. He said the farmers were required to give the venison to needy folks or food-handling charities. The biggest problem with that, he said, was field-dressing the harvested animals in hot weather and finding a cooler for the carcass while locating people who wanted the meat.

Gully said the deer problem was twice as bad in summers with the dry weather driving them to anything green. He said the irrigated cotton was the deer’s major target on his farm near Mereta, about 15 miles east of San Angelo, until a neighbor’s maize started heading out. “They like maize better than cotton,” he said.

Farmers in eastern Tom Green and western Concho counties are excited about the pilot program becoming permanent, Gully told me on Monday. “The new law will allow the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department to immediately begin issuing permits to control the deer,” he said. “No one wants to eradicate the deer. We just want to control them by limiting their access to our fields.”

Gully said farmers will be allowed to harvest deer year-round that are destroying crops, provided they don’t waste the carcass. In turn, farmers are determined to find ways to work with meat processors to save the venison.

“This legislation will remove some of the more cumbersome and unnecessary aspects of the current permitting process for controlling wildlife, and would authorize the Texas Parks & Wildlife Commission to develop new criteria for the program,” Darby said.

Sutton Page of San Angelo, Texas Farm Bureau field representative for the Concho Valley and the Big Country, said some cotton farmers with fields that border pastureland resorted to building high fences around their cotton fields several years ago.

“Although the high fencing has helped to keep deer out of some cotton fields, it is very expensive and in many situations only allows the deer to double up on neighboring fields not fenced,” Page said.

Darby said the wildlife bill drew support from not only the Texas Farm Bureau, but also the Texas Wildlife Association, the Exotic Wildlife Association and Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association.

Source: Go San Angelo

WEST VIRGINIA NEWS: Growing Human-Deer Conflicts in Putnam County

Deer have become such a problem in Putnam County that residents should be able to shoot them even when they're not in season, a man complained to county commissioners Tuesday.

Arnold Cyrus of Trace Fork asked commissioners to declare deer in the county a public nuisance so he and other residents could shoot them during the hunting off-season to prevent the animals from destroying crops.

"We need help on this some way or another," Cyrus said.

He said farmers growing alfalfa, clover, soybeans and a variety of flowers are constantly battling against a growing deer population.

State Division of Natural Resources representatives recommended he and other farmers put up fences around their property to keep the deer out. But residents would need fencing at least 8 feet high, and "we farmers don't have that kind of money," he said.

Cyrus said he's tried all the "old wives' tales" to deter the animals from eating his plants, but nothing seems to work.

Commissioner Joe Haynes agreed something needs to be done: "But the question is what?" Commissioners can't override state law and allow residents to shoot deer in the off-season, he said.

After Tuesday's meeting, DNR Capt. Stephan Stewart said county residents can apply for kill permits to shoot deer if they are causing substantial damage to gardens or other private property. The property can't be within 500 feet of another residence, highway or business, he said.

"We can authorize to use a bow and arrow to destroy the deer, and if that cannot be safely done, then the people ... will have to try fencing and repellents to prevent the deer from destroying their property," he said.

Source: Charleston Gazette

IRELAND NEWS: Deer Culling Plans Under Development

Landowners and animal preservation societies are planning to cull the number of wild deer, which is said to have increased dramatically in the past few years.

A deer management programme has been devised both to conserve the number of deer and to advise farmers.

The Irish Farmers' Association, the Irish Deer Society and the Wild Deer Association of Ireland are participating in the plan.

IFA Deputy President Derek Deane said the rise in deer numbers has posed problems for farmers, including fence damage, encroaching on crops, grazing of pastureland and increasing the risk of disease outbreaks.

Chairman of the Irish Deer Society Paul Wood said while they want to conserve wild deer, there is a need for effective management of deer numbers, which can increase annually by 30%.

President of the Wild Deer Association of Ireland Pat Scully said hunters often concentrate on culling male deer because they want a set of trophy antlers.

However, he said this does very little to control deer numbers as female numbers escalate.

SOURCE: RTE News

VIRGINIA NEWS: Deer Population Threatens Vinyards

The deer population is on the rise, and many experts say it's due to a number of different factors, like their high reproductive rate, the absence of predators, and the increased nutrition from several plants - including grapes vonifera grapes to be exact, and that's why vineyards are gearing up for this year's growing season.

"The deer fence will go right along through here," says Chris Breiner, who manages the Stone Mountain Vineyard. He says deer are becoming more and more of a problem, "In the past we had an electric fence right there and then we had garlic sticks and other things to keep them out, last year that did not work as well since there was nothing in the woods they were moving more."

As the deer population rises, Breiner has to think of other means to protect his grapes, so this past week, he came up with a different plan.

"This is the plastic deer mesh, it comes with a roll that's a hundred feet and eight feet tall, it's supposedly can withstand 900 pounds of pressure before it will tear or rip," says Breiner. He hopes that 1800 feet of fence will deter deer from feasting on his grapes, "Deer are claustrophobic, they have bad peripheral vision so they stay on the top rows and the bottom rows and they come in on the edges they will not really go along the rows because they are very skittish animals, although sometimes they do get in there and panic"

Breiner's customers depend on the quality of his grapes, so keeping deer out is a huge priority.

"They were just on the move more we spent way too many man hours keeping them out, we probably lost, I estimate, last year 6 to 7 tons of fruit to the deer damage," says Breiner.

According to the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, deer vehicle collisions and deer damage to agricultural and residential property continue to increase in the Commonwealth.

Source: http://www.whsv.com/news/headlines/17342629.html

NEW JERSEY NEWS: State Cost-Sharing Deer Fence Construction for Farmers

ANDOVER — It is the eternal farmer question: How much can I afford to let the wildlife eat?

A few years ago, John Elwood decided the deer in his neighborhood had eaten enough.

Elwood, who owns Good Hand Farm on Brighton Road, applied to the state and got grant money to help him install a deer fence. Since then, he said the deer have been on a rigid diet, no more of his organic garden.

The state Department of Agriculture is now accepting applications for the 2007 deer fence program. If accepted, farmers can get fencing material and up to 30 percent of the cost of line posts needed for installation.

Deadline for applications is Oct. 7 and forms are available from local extension and soil conservation district offices. Further information is available through the Agriculture Department Web site, www.state.nj.us/agriculture/news and click on "news releases" in the left column.

Unlike most fencing, which is about three to four feet high and meant to keep livestock in, wildlife fencing comes in rolls up to eight feet tall and is woven, with smaller spaces near the bottom, meant to keep out small wildlife, such as rabbits, woodchucks and skunks. In most installations, the woven wire is topped by two or three single strands of wire to keep out deer, which can leap more than eight feet high.

The fencing program was developed at Rutgers Cooperative Extension and is cosponsored by the Agriculture Department. This will be the third time the program will be offered and first year it will have a new/beginning farmer category.

In the first two years, about 150 farmers across the state received help with the fence.

According to Rutgers scientists, about 70 percent of crop loss in the state can be blamed on deer with a dollar loss estimated at between $5 million and $10 million each year.

Among the eligibility requirements are that a farmer must document a minimum of $40,000 in agricultural sales or $20,000 in sales of organic products ($5,000 for new/beginner farmer); have not participated in the previous fence program; be the owner of the land or have documented proof of renting preserved farmland; and attend a mandatory fence workshop.

If properly installed, a deer fence will last up to 30 years and the cost can be amortized on the farmer's tax returns.

Elwood chose to enclose about 10 acres of his farm, which sits smack in the middle of excellent deer country. That plot contains the organic garden where he grows produce for sale. "You can't afford to enclose too much of an area," he said. "For some crops, such as hay and corn, you just have to accept that the deer will eat some."

That decision, he said, is an economic one. Some crops, such as hay, have a lower return per acre while an organic garden has a much higher return. Unfenced at his farm is a 10-acre pasture for horses and a 22-acre hay field.

Elwood said a neighbor, Bob Cahill, also has a deer fence for protection, but his crop is the wide variety of plants he grows for his landscaping business.

"The system is entirely effective," he said, then laughed, "except when the owner gets stupid and leaves the gate open."

Source: http://www.njherald.com/362084244931398.php