POV MHS farmers- Musselman HS-Stevens                                                                                                                                11/4/2011 As a farmer it has come to my attention that deer have been harming crops, tearing down fences, and leaving deer trails across the property.  The deer themselves are not always a problem, it's when there is an over population of them, which in the eastern panhandle, there is an over population problem.  The overpopulation of the deer can lead to diseases such as Chronic Waste Disease, Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease, Deer Warts, and other viral diseases.    Some solutions to this problem could be using large dogs for large farms that are specifically trained in keeping animals such as deer away, exclusion fences are extremely helpful, whether they are solar or electric, baiting deer away from the crops, ultra sonic "scarers", electronic deer repellant, and loud frequency alarms.  Obviously another solution  would be to increase the hunting season of deer and let hunters take care of the over population problem.  The benefits of having deer away from the farms are fairly obvious; crops would prosper, deer wouldn't get caught in fences for herd animals, and damage from deer rubs and trails would be less obtrusive.  The costs of most of these deterrents are fairly moderate, and most of the solutions, other than hunting of course work for other animals and have other positives.  Trained dogs will help keep a herd of animals safe from deer in their pastures, as well as keep other animals such as raccoons, foxes, and coyotes away.  Exclusion fences will work well to keep deer away from crops, the fence must be high enough though, or the deer can possibly get caught in the fence.  Some fences, especially American Wire fences will be likely to catch a deer's back leg in the fence, so the fence would need to be specifically set up to keep deer away by using a high enough fence.  Loud frequency alarms, may be expensive, but in the long run are less obtrusive than some other alternatives.  One would not need to worry about building a fence, buying things to bait deer away, or training a large dog.     Join the Thoughtful Discussion Thoughtful Discussion         Back to Top

 

POV L&M Show Cattle- Musselman HS-Rickman                                                                                                                              11/18/2011 As an up and coming farmer I have a small heard of beef cattle kept in by an electric fence. Every day I go outside to check on my calves and a deer has torn my fence down almost every day. I am tired of it! We have tried letting hunters on our land to thin out the deer but when one of them missed the deer and clipped my momma cow in the leg, we no longer allow hunters on our land. We have also tried putting an apple pile out front but the deer just eat them and jump right back over our fence. We have even had times that we dump grain do our cows over the winter and the deer come in and eat it. Even my brother and I went out and killed three of the deer but, it's almost like they multiplied because now  there are twelve deer held up in my thirteen acre field. The deer are costing me money, labor, and college football on Saturday's. I am not a happy camper anymore I am in full favor of a prolonged hunting season to get rid of our over population of white tail deer. Thank you for reading my rant about white tail deer. I hope you enjoyed our opinion on this  growing problem.     Join the Thoughtful Discussion Thoughtful Discussion         Back to Top