10/29/09 - The Moderator's Coyote Challenge
Coyotes are becoming
more
and
more common in the East. Coyotes are known to
prey
on deer, particularly fawns. There is some question
about their overall
impact on the size of the deer herd, but maybe they
affect deer behavior like the wolves do in Yellowstone.
Maybe, just maybe, they make deer nervous, keep them on the
move, and reduce excessive browsing in our damaged forests.
But agricultural interests worry about
coyote predation on livestock. So, here is a
Moderator Challenge to the Farm
stakeholders: are you willing to intentionally let the coyote
population get larger to find out if the possible benefits to
agriculture from a smaller deer herd out weigh the costs to
agriculture from livestock predation? How about bobcats,
which mostly
prey on deer during periods of heavy snow?
Questions to All Farmer Stakeholders
From:
Deer Huggers! - Other Stakeholder - NHHS
Ask
10/26/2009
9:34:00 AM
how much damage do the deer cause
POV
Deer Farmers Hampshire
H.S.
10/21/2009
REVISED. We are farmers in West Virginia. As
farmers, we face many problems; the main one
being deer. We all work extremely hard during spring
and summer to earn a profit. Only half of
our crops grew and were able to be harvested this
year. Some of the lost crops were corn, soy
beans, green beans, and cabbage. Deer were the cause
of this problem. We wasted a lot of time
and money. We spent money on equipment, seeds, gas,
and fences. If we had known how much
damage the deer were going to cause then we would
have spared ourselves the hard work and
time. Deer cause approximately 35 million dollars
worth of damage in West Virginia annually.
Thisis extremely high and not necessary. We feel
that we should be able to kill the deer if they
begin to cause problems on our farms. If we are
given this right then it will drastically
increase our profits. This extra profit will help us
and the poor ecomony. The farms that we
run help to feed the people in West Virginia and
surrounding states. If the deer population
does not go down, then the communities will suffer.
We have urged the DNR to allow us to kill
the deer so that we are able to feed West Virginia
residences. If we are not given this right
then the people of West Virginia and surrounding
states could suffer from a food shortage. If
we are granted our wish then we could have a
surplus and make a greater profit, which could
eventually help our poor economy.
Ask a Thoughtful Question or Respond
Thoughtful Questions
From:
Simply for Nature - Other Stakeholder - SCHS
Ask
11/5/2009
12:35:00 PM
It is an option to tell the government about the deer
but we feel that hunters should be
able to have more than one major deer season. If there
is more oppurtunities to kill
deer, the population will be more under control. We only
have a small fence where the
deer can see the top of it, this enables the deer to
jump over it. There would be a food
shortage because the deer eat all the crops and we
distrbute them to the market to sell.
We know that deer are not just in our area because
according to surveys taken, deer
cause 35 million dollars worth of damage in West
Virginia annually. It is not possible
for this much damage to be caused in just one area
alone. Therefore, deer are not just
in our area.
From:
Students with Solutions - Other Stakeholder - SCHS
Statement
11/4/2009
12:50:00 PM
I agree with your article...deer and farming do not mix.
Deer do destroy alot of crops
and break fences. People who don't live in the country
or don't farm do not realize how
much it costs to replace fence and catch loose
livestock. Also planting and maintaining
fields, as well as the equipment to farm the fields, is
not cheap. Why spend money to
farm and have deer destroy and eat crops and not be able
to make back enough to replant
next season and support your family. Farmers should be
allowed to kill off any animals
eating and damaging crops.
From:
Students with Solutions - Other Stakeholder - SCHS
Ask
11/4/2009
12:45:00 PM
If the deer population is that high then you should
complain to the government so that
there will be more hunters or other options. How are
the deer getting through your
current fence system? Why would there be a food shortage
- maybe the deer are just in
your area?
From:
Simply for Nature - Other Stakeholder - SCHS
Statement
11/4/2009
10:38:00 AM
I can appreciate your anger at the great losses you are
suffering due to the deer
destroying your property, however I don’t fully
understand how you plan on killing the
deer. You are mentioning that you should have the right
to simply kill the deer, but if you
want the right to kill whenever you want, so will
everyone else.
From:
Farmers & the Dell - farmer - EHHS
Statement
11/4/2009
8:39:00 AM
What would you do when deer season is out? How would you
rid the deer from your
property?
Response
Deer Farmers - farmer - HHS
11/5/2009
12:40:00 PM
Once deer season is out, we can get a permit that allows
us to kill deer as they
begin to cause damage to farm. This can help keep the
deer population under
control.
From:
Students with Solutions - Other Stakeholder - SCHS
Statement
11/3/2009
1:18:00 PM
I agree with your statements about trying to maintain a
balance with the deer population
around your farms by shooting some of the deer
yourselves because it’s less expensive.
What I don’t agree with is your humane idea to place
fencing up around your farms
because the fence would take a lot of money overtime to
maintain and also the hazards
that go with putting up a fence in your farming area.
The fence wouldn’t just stop deer
but the other animals that are in the forest, such as
birds flying through at that level. My
opinion would be to not put up a fence and try to
decrease the population of deer by
killing them in deer season.
From:
Students with Solutions - Other Stakeholder - SCHS
Statement
11/2/2009
1:19:00 PM
You will get a greater profit but killing more deer will
anger hunters, and animal
lovers. If you kill too many deer then you will make the
overall population of deer get
lower and they could eventually become extinct and all
the hunters will get mad at
the farmers for killing all the deer and I don’t think
you losing half of your crops will
make anyone starve. There might be less profit for you
but there will be plenty of
food for people to eat.
From:
Simply for Nature - Other Stakeholder - SCHS
Statement
10/29/2009
9:56:00 AM
How will you gain extra profits??? You will only make
money on what you planted if
deer caused no crop damage, not extra. If you kill deer
your farm will not get magically
larger. You also changed your statements from the
begginning to the end of your POV. In
the beginning you said that the farmers are the only
ones suffering, towards the end
you said how West Virginia and the surrounding areas
will suffer very badly from food
shortages and money loss. Don’t worry though if you
have a food shortage down there,
we are a strong state agriculturally and can export food
to you. Sounds like a good deal
to me.
From:
Deer Huggers! - Other Stakeholder - NHHS
Ask
10/26/2009
9:22:00 AM
How do you feel that lowering the population and
increasing crop yield will aid the
economy? We may have exhausted crops so it might be good
that some crops are
being limited as well. Do you think deer hunting will
truly be the answer to this
problem, as birds and other animals damage crops as
well?
Response
Deer Farmers - farmer - HHS
10/27/2009
11:37:00 AM
Deer cause about 35 million dollars worth of damage to
crops in West
Virginia annually.
From:
JJCFARM - farmer - BGHS
Statement
10/26/2009
8:42:00 AM
I agree deer do alot of damage to crops. AND I agree
deer should be managed
properly.
From:
bghsForesters - forester - BGHS
Ask
10/26/2009
8:39:00 AM
In virginia farmers can get a permet leting them kill
off some of them does west
virginia have a program like that?
Response
Deer Farmers - farmer - HHS
10/27/2009
11:35:00 AM
Yes, West Virginia has permits that allow you to kill
deer if they begin to
cause problems for your crops.
|
POV
Trojan Farmers
Hampshire H.S.
10/15/2009
We as the farmers have many problems. Deer cause
many issues such as causing millions of
dollars in damage to crops. According to William
Grafton in the 1980’s they estimated that $35
million worth of damage was done. Deer will eat
almost all small plants which causes much
problems for the farmers that use them to sell. It
is hard to keep them out of fields. One deer
will eat up to 5-7 pounds a day. They also cause
diseases such as lyme disease. The solutions
to our problems are humane for the most part.We
think that people could get permits for
hunting deer that are in their field. We could also
get fencing to put up that they can’t jump it.
The farmers could get plants that are inexpensive
that the deer don’t like and place them
around the fields so that it repels the deer. The
farmers that hunt would also like to increase
the deer season. This would help them to control the
deer in their area. Placing other animal
scents aroud the fields would keep them away. Also
something that would cost a lot would be to
place motion scensored water sprinklers in your
field so that when they entered it they would
be scared off.
Ask a Thoughtful Question or Respond
Thoughtful Questions
From:
Farmers & the Dell - farmer - EHHS
Statement
11/4/2009
8:35:00 AM
When it rains outside, what do the deer do? They do not
get scared by the rain! This is
why we think the deer may be attracted to the
sprinklers. We are also aware that you
CAN turn off water systems!
Response
Trojan Farmers - farmer - HHS
11/5/2009
10:03:00 AM
When it rains hard out the deer bed down, they don't
just stand there. And since
you are aware of the fact that you can turn off the
sprinklers then you know it
won't affect the farmers going out to work on the field.
From:
Students with Solutions - Other Stakeholder - SCHS
Statement
11/2/2009
12:59:00 PM
Although we agree with many ideas you have proposed, we
do not believe that fences
are a good option to solve the deer dilemma. Birds that
fly at a semi-low range can
easily be caught in the fences and die. Also, other
animals can become trapped in the
fenced in forest, and trapped outside of the fence as
well. Another downside to the
fences involves humans themselves. If a couple of
hunters or hikers are going for a
walk and they come across a fence, what are they
supposed to do? We also think
that water sprinklers may be a waste. Is it proven that
deer will stay away from
sprinklers? If so, this would be a good idea, but if not
they would be a complete
waste.
Response
Trojan Farmers - farmer - HHS
11/5/2009
10:09:00 AM
We would not be fencing in the forest we would be
fencing in the fields that our
crops are in so that would not affect people hunting or
hiking since they
shouldn't be in our fields anyway. Also for the
sprinklers we have only found the
idea on the internet but we think it makes sense due to
the fact that deer are
skidish.
From:
Farmers & the Dell - farmer - EHHS
Ask
10/28/2009
7:45:00 AM
Although these are good ideas, we are questioning
whether the deer would stay out of
the crops or just ignore the plants they do not like. We
also think the sprinklers would be
a problem. The deer may be attracted to the sprinklers,
to stay cool. How would you
dodge the sprinklers when you go to manage your fields?
Response
Trojan Farmers - farmer - HHS
10/29/2009
8:59:00 AM
The sprinklers wouldn't attract the deer they would
repel them because they
wouldn't be on all they time they would be motion
sensored which means it would
scar them when it went off. Also you could turn off the
sprinklers when you had
to work on the field, it is possible to turn off water
systems.
Response
Trojan Farmers - farmer - HHS
10/29/2009
9:04:00 AM
Deer aren't dumb they know that if they smell a bear
that they shouldn't go in
that area, or if you put any other scent that is a
predator to them they know it's
not safe so they would go another way.
From:
W.P.C.S. (Wildlife Population Control Specialists) -
hunter - EHHS
Statement
10/28/2009
7:42:00 AM
Most deer aren't picky about what they eat. If they are
hungry then they will eat
whatever they can to survive.
From:
Harassed Homeowners - homeowner - PHS
Ask
10/28/2009
6:21:00 AM
How would putting other animal scents around fields keep
the deer away? They come
into contact with other scents all the time in the
forest and that doesn't keep them away.
From:
Harford Homeowners - homeowner - NHHS
Ask
10/26/2009
9:29:00 AM
How do deer cause diseases towards humans?
Response
Trojan Farmers - farmer - HHS
10/28/2009
9:14:00 AM
Deer ticks carry deseases, and they fall off the deer in
the gardens and attach
themselves to the farmers when they go to the garden.
Those diseases affect the
farmers ability to properly manage the crops.
From:
SUPER FORESTER - forester - NHHS
Ask
10/26/2009
9:27:00 AM
What effect does the lime disease the deer carry have on
the crops the farms are
planting?
Response
Trojan Farmers - farmer - HHS
10/28/2009
9:16:00 AM
Lyme disease does not have any direct affect on the
crops but in a way it does
affect it slightly. Farmers could catch the diseases by
ticks left in the garden
from deer attaching themselves to them and the illness
that they catch affects
their ability to properly take care of the crops.
From:
Donkey Farmers - farmer - NHHS
Ask
10/26/2009
9:26:00 AM
Considering a deer can jump about ten feet in the air,
how high would the fencing
have to be in order to keep the deer out?
Response
Trojan Farmers - farmer - HHS
10/28/2009
9:18:00 AM
The fences around the crops may have to be up to 13 oto
15 feet tall and may be
costly but in the long run it would cost less then the
cost of replacing crops eaten
or destroyed by deer.
From:
Deer Huggers! - Other Stakeholder - NHHS
Ask
10/26/2009
9:24:00 AM
Of course farmers are impacted greatly by over populated
deer. How are you going
to get so many fences for so many farmers? Furthermore,
fences do not always
keep deer out. You could plant many decoy crops that
will purposefully keep deer
from eating your main crops. This is one way that you
could keep deer away without
sending a bullet through their skull.
From:
BGHS hunters - hunter - BGHS
Ask
10/26/2009
9:01:00 AM
why wouldnt farmers just get a permit?
From:
JJCFARM - farmer - BGHS
Ask
10/26/2009
8:34:00 AM
How will you get the money for all this stuff? AND
What if the plants attract
other animals?
From:
deers - Other Stakeholder - BGHS
Statement
10/26/2009
8:33:00 AM
I agree that something has to be done about the deer
population and the farmers
should be able to get those permits that would allpw
them to shoot the deer if it
entered their field. what type of damages has your
equipment suffered? are your
crops harmed in anyway?
From:
bghsForesters - forester - BGHS
Ask
10/26/2009
8:33:00 AM
How much would the deer proof fence cost?
|
POV
Donkey Farmers North
Harford H.S
10/20/2009
Farmers are a key stakeholder in the population
issues concerning deer. Developments and
other suburban areas are taking up former forested
areas. All that land is now uninhabitable
for deer. Now the deer are forced to overpopulate
the remaining areas, and they are also
forced to eat the farmer’s crops to survive. When
deer graze on the farmer’s crops this
damages the fields and if the grazing is too severe,
it can cut some of the farmer’s profit.
Some of the solutions that can help the
overpopulation of deer and help the grazing on
farmers crops are a longer hunting season and create
habitats for deer when building
development take it away. We could also build fences
around our fields to prevent deer from
coming onto our property. If some of these
solutions are put into play, our crops would not be
grazed upon. This would increase our earnings at the
end of the season when we harvest ours
crops. Installing fencing would initially cost
money, but in the long run the fencing would pay
for itself. These solutions are fairly easy
to put into play. The work needed to install these
improvements is better to deal with then the
problems these deer are causing. The following
statistics are from a 1997 survey of farmers
reguarding deer problems:Responding farmers
reported deer were responsible for 70% of their
wildlife caused crop losses. The majority of
responding farmers were very confident in their
abilities to distinguish deer losses from losses
caused by other species and confidence appeared to
increase with experience. Deer
densities and crop losses have exceeded the
tolerance of producers in most areas of the state.
39% of farmers responding reported 1997 losses were
intolerable to the point of taking
additional action to resolve the issue. Between $5
and $10 million in crop losses for 1997
were reported by farmers responding to this survey.
These problems are far worse then the
work to install the simple solutions we
provided.1997 Deer Survey from
http://njaes.rutgers.edu/pubs/deerdamage/.
Ask a Thoughtful Question or Respond
Thoughtful
Questions
From:
Simply for Nature - Other Stakeholder - SCHS
Statement
11/3/2009
11:09:00 AM
First off how will you raise money to build fences
around farmers crops when they have
many acres of cropland. These fences will have to be
pretty high to stop deer from
jumping over them. Also where are we going to make
habitats for deer when there are no
places to make them at anyway. all of your data
regarding deer population and such on
farmer's cropland is pretty old too.
From:
we're deer - Other Stakeholder - NHHS
Ask
10/26/2009
9:38:00 AM
how high will the fences be?
Response
Donkey Farmers - farmer - NHHS
10/28/2009
11:01:00 AM
twice as high as deer can jump (apx. 20 feet) and line
them with barbed wire.
From:
Harford Homeowners - homeowner - NHHS
Ask
10/26/2009
9:28:00 AM
Do you think a lot of farmers spend a lot of money on
rebuilding their crops?
Response
Donkey Farmers - farmer - NHHS
10/28/2009
11:02:00 AM
yes, farmers spend a significant amount of money
rebuilding crops. (see
statistics above)
From:
BGHS hunters - hunter - BGHS
Statement
10/26/2009
9:04:00 AM
there are deer in the city because of all the devolpment
goin on.it is our fault and we
need to fix our problem
Response
Donkey Farmers - farmer - NHHS
10/28/2009
11:04:00 AM
we know the deer in the developments are our fault, that
is why we gave
SPECIFIC solutions pretaining to that direct issue.
From:
deers - Other Stakeholder - BGHS
Ask
10/26/2009
9:02:00 AM
what is the cost of the crops that have been destroyed?
wouldn't building fences
cost a lot?
From:
JJCFARM - farmer - BGHS
Ask
10/26/2009
8:46:00 AM
How do you think deer should be managed? AND How much
would the fence cost?
|
POV
Moonkufu Deer Killer
Hampshire H.S.
10/21/2009
A consensus must be met. I am an outraged farmer on
the brink of poverty. "Why," may you
ask? Deer have destroyed everything I have worked on
to make a living. These vermin have
hurt many men like myself. They are an overpopulated
parasite that has plagued us long enough.
I will not sit idly by while my family is at stake.
Now someone must do something, because I
can no longer help myself.Deer have caused a great
damage to agriculture around eastern
United States. In the 1980s, they have caused $35
million annually worth of damage. They eat
crops while in their silk stage which kills any
chance for them to fully develop. While in their
raids, they spread disease to the livestock in the
vicinity which in turn makes the entire season
worthless. Farmers can no longer grow profitable
crops like alfalfa, corn, berries, grapes,
pumpkins, and even the orchards are lost. Ginseng, a
plant used for medicine, is becoming less
abundant, and this crop alone grosses over $2
million. Most farmers have to quit farming.
There is no question whether or not it is deer,
because they leave distinct tracks that hunters
use to find them which just shows how much of an
impact they have.In New Jersey, farmers
have seen $5-10 million in damage in a study in
1997. Rich farm land has been abandoned for
this reason. Most farmers do not even own the land
rather they lease off of landowners. This
makes it difficult to take measures to prevent such
fatalities. We have received permits to
shoot the deer, but hunters and homeowners protested
it. The best thing that works is repellents
and fencing but since it is not our land we cannot
do it. It is clear the damage done. I am not
being selfish in saying that America must protects
its farmers. If you do not, than there will be
no farms left to defend. Others need to be less
selfish. The deer are overpopulated; the forest
shows that. Now that most of that is gone they have
turned to the farms. I plead that something
be done soon or the unemployment and poverty of
America will only skyrocket.
Ask a Thoughtful Question or Respond
Thoughtful
Questions
From:
Students with Solutions - Other Stakeholder - SCHS
Ask
11/4/2009
1:08:00 PM
Why do you think that repellents are one the best things
to control the deer
overpopulation issue? If organic/natural repellents
were used, chances are, the deer
are going to acclimatize or biologically habituate
themselves to them; this won't really
effectively keep the deer away from the crops in the
long run.If inorganic/artificial
repellents were used, they can harm the crops, rather
than protect them from the deer.
Response
Moonkufu Deer Killer - farmer - HHS
11/12/2009
2:17:00 PM
The repellents would be placed around the perimeter of
the farm. The fence
would be monitered for assurance against a deer that is
in danger.
From:
Donkey Farmers - farmer - NHHS
Ask
Will these repellents you are talking about have any
possibility of hurting the deer or
other animals?
From:
Students with Solutions - Other Stakeholder - SCHS
Ask
11/2/2009
10:36:00 AM
Why should the prices only go down for your state and
go up for every one else. It
should either raise for all states or be lowered for all
states. How would the State
buy more land? The states wont sell land to anyone.
Especially with the oil shortage.
It is a good idea to exstend hunting seasons though.
The number of deer that can be
killed shouldn’t be raised because some people don’t
want deer to go extinct in that
state. Some people like to go deer watching instead of
deer hunting. Not putting feed
by major highways and roads is a good idea, but we are
talking about the deer here
not the insurane company’s money. I am a hunter in
Pennsylvania myself. I know you
dont hunt in PA, but pretty much all the things you
talked about is completely
senseless. Read over what you have wrote then post
something else.
From:
Farmers & the Dell - farmer - EHHS
Ask
10/29/2009
7:45:00 AM
The repellant could damage the plants in your fields as
well as the deer. What kind of
fencing would you use to repel the deer? Many fencing
methods deer can jump through
or over. What kind of repellant would you use to shield
the deer?
From:
The Farmer Coalition in the Deer Issue - farmer - HHS
Ask
10/27/2009
1:02:00 PM
Why do you think that repellents are one the best things
to control the deer
overpopulation issue? If organic/natural repellents
were used, chances are, the
deer are going to acclimatize or biologically habituate
themselves to them; this won't
really effectively keep the deer away from the crops in
the long run. If
inorganic/artificial repellents were used, they can harm
the crops, rather than
protect them from the deer.
|
POV
The
Farmer Coalition in the Deer Issue Hampshire H.S.
10/21/2009
As the majority of us are consumers, we rarely
consider the viewpoints of the people who
provide the food for us in most public issues, even
in issues in the environmental sciences.In
the farmers’ perspective, the main issue with the
deer is their excessive numbers intruding on
farmlands. There are two main issues that affect
the farmers’ productiveness in their
farming: the deer’s feed on crops and their
epidemiologic effect on other farm animals.When
deer either feed on the crops or degrade them in
some other way, the crops are destroyed such
that they cannot be processed and sold for public
consumption. Deer can also spread diseases,
either directly (from their saliva through
consumption) or indirectly (excretions and
transferring insects to plants). When deer
habitually graze in farm lands, they can not only
adversely affect the crops and other harvests, but
also the livestock. Diseases can be
transmitted through their excretions; diseases
include tuberculosis, Escherichia coli, and mad
cow disease.These issues can degrade the value of
farmers’ products, which thus decreases
the farmers’ productiveness and can, over time,
cause financial problems.Attempts have been
made to either ameliorate or prevent the damages.
To prevent deer from damaging and
degrading crops, farmers have concocted and used
repellants and deterrents. However, the
repellants can damage the crops in themselves, due
to their often corrosive or chemically
harmful effects on organic matter. Deterrents
include live animals or “straw man”-like
innovations to scare away the deer. However, deer
can easily acclimatize to the “fright-and-
flight” stimulations, to the point where they do not
affect the deer anymore. Farmers have
attempted to control the hunting permission on their
farmlands. However, the hunters’
predilection is towards larger animals than
deer.Improvements could be made to improve the
management and supervision of hunters’ hunting on
farmlands. Farmers could also record
demographic data of the general deer population on
their farmlands, so that they can be better
managed.
Ask a Thoughtful Question or Respond
Thoughtful
Questions
From:
deers - Other Stakeholder - BGHS
Ask
10/26/2009
9:09:00 AM
are there any other diseases that deer spead? have you
ever thought about letting
hunters on to your property?
Response
The Farmer Coalition in the Deer Issue - farmer - HHS
10/27/2009
1:26:00 PM
If hunters were let onto farmlands, they could hunt
without the farmers'
control of what is shot; without demographic data and
reports collected on
what is hunted on farmlands, the deer population may not
be reduced to
favor.As for the diseases deer can spread to other
farmland livestock,
besides the ones mentioned in my POV, deer can spread
mad deer disease
and chronic wasting disease (CWD).
From:
bghsForesters - forester - BGHS
Ask
10/26/2009
8:43:00 AM
Do the chemicals hurt the deer
Response
The Farmer Coalition in the Deer Issue - farmer - HHS
10/27/2009
1:08:00 PM
First of all, the repellents could either be organic or
inorganic. Organic
repellents would not harm the deer, really; they would
just be unpleasant to
the deer. However, inorganic repellents are made from
chemicals, possible
harmful ones. Yes, the chemicals from repellents could
potentially harm the
deer. However, repellents keep deer from consuming the
crops, therefore
the deer more than likely wouldn't come in contact with
inorganic repellents
more than a few innocuous times.
|
POV
Farmers & the Dell-
East Hardy H.S.
10/22/2009
Farmers are faced
with many problems caused by the deer population
each day. Farmers work hard every day in the spring
and summer seasons, on their crops. Yet, the biggest
problem is the deer eating the farmer’s crops. The
lost crops include: corn, cabbage, green beans, and
soy beans. Statistics show, in the past, that
farmers as a whole lost an amount of $35 million
from damages by the deer. Each mature deer eats
about five to seven pounds of plants per day. From
that fact, think of how many individual deer eat the
farmer’s crops each day. Over the number of years,
deer population has increased and the farmer’s
profits have decreased. The farmers spend their
hard-earned cash on: farm equipment, gasoline, crop
seeds, and food to feed their livestock. Farmers
spend extra money each year to shield the deer from
destroying their crops. There are potentially many
solutions to the deer population issues, concerning
the farmers. The farmers could control the deer
population by, shooting all the deer on or around
their property. If the farmers were granted this
right, then their profits will increase and the deer
population would decrease. The farmers send their
crops to their state and surrounding states, some
across the world. The result of this is the prices
of the crops would decrease, because there would be
more availability of crops. The farmers wouldn’t
have to charge more money for the crops, because
they wouldn’t be spending as much money, to keep the
deer out. This means everyone saves money in the
situation, farmers and customers. If this idea was
granted to farmers, this would have an abundant
affect on the other stakeholders, around or in the
same area. Farmers may shoot the deer that concerned
the other stakeholders, this also would be a win-win
scenario. The deer population would be lowered in
the area, if the idea was passed.
Ask a Thoughtful Question or Respond
Thoughtful
Questions
From:
Trojan Farmers - farmer - HHS
Ask
10/29/2009
9:08:00 AM
There is always a possibility that the state or county
will not grant you the right to shoot
the deer outside of deer season. What are some possible
alternatives to shooting?
Response
Farmers & the Dell - farmer - EHHS
11/4/2009
8:25:00 AM
Some other solutions, besides shooting the deer out of
season are: To call the
game warden and have them come and get rid of the deer
someway, also we could
shoot them with a BB Gun because it doesn't harm them,
it stings them, which
will scare them away.
The Moderator:
You say "The
farmers could control the deer population by, shooting
all the deer on or around their property."
I know lots of farmers who wouldn't do that because they
don't want the animals to "go to waste." Can you
think of anything productive the farmers could do with
the deer they killed? Can you think of anyway they
might make money doing this (beyond protecting their
crops as you noted above)?
Response
Farmers & the Dell - farmer - EHHS
10/28/2009
7:34:00 AM
The farmers could keep the deer meat for their own
purposes. They could give
the meat to friends or family. The farmers could provide
people with meat that
cannot afford to buy meat from stores. The farmers could
sell the deer meat to
restaurants that serve deer meat. These ideas would keep
the meat from going to
waste.
The Moderator : do the laws allow sale of deer
meat?
Response
Farmers & the Dell - farmer - EHHS
10/29/2009
7:38:00 AM
We could donate the deer meat to local food banks in our
area. Cited from:
"http://www.ask.com/bar?q=Is+the+sale+of+deer+meat+legal%3F&page=1&qsrc=
0&dm=all&ab=0&title=Venison+inspection+requirements&u=http%3A%2F%2Fww
w.deer-
library.com%2Fartman%2Fpublish%2Farticle_67.shtml&sg=EyLXZ1w567K4EcO
Aq4lgns%2F6Z%2BLF5ViOjqnS0%2FDnOh0%3D&tsp=1256822960022"All
food must come from an "approved source" in order to be
sold in retail stores
and restaurants. An "approved source" does not mean that
the deer or elk must be
inspected; rather it means that the facility where the
animal was slaughtered
and processed is inspected. The most common "approved
source" for uninspected
venison is a licensed food establishment, a federally
inspected meat plant, or a
state inspected meat plant.
|
POV
JJCFARM- Buffalo Gap HS
10/23/2009
As a farmer the best way to manage the deer
population is by hunting. Farmers need to control
the population so deer will do less damage, crops,
and livestock .Deer management is very crucial to
agriculture for these reasons.
First off as a farmer I see deer everywhere. When
deer jump fences they can knock wires and boards
letting livestock out. Fence is expensive to build
and every time consuming. Managing deer would help
to save the farmer money.
Second when deer get in an alfalfa or corn a field
the deer will hurt the crops yield. Deer can also
damage machinery. When deer are managed proper deer
will do less damage to the crops. That will allow
the farmers to make more profit.
Deer can also harm livestock. Deer carry disease
which livestock can contract. Parasites which deer
can pass onto livestock can kill or cause them to
loose wieght.
The best way to manage deer is to hunt them
responsibly and shoot the young weak, criple, and
old deer to keep the deer population strong deer
must be managed to keep the population down. To
insure farmers make a profit. Without hunting deer
would over populate and cause problems for
farmers.
Ask a Thoughtful Question or Respond
Thoughtful
Questions
From:
Deer Farmers - farmer - HHS
Ask
11/5/2009
12:25:00 PM
How do you know that it is just deer eating your crops
because of deforestation???
From:
Students with Solutions - Other Stakeholder - SCHS
Ask
11/4/2009
12:56:00 PM
I agree with you that hunting is the best way to control
the deer population. But, how is it
'being responsible' if you're only shooting the young,
crippled, and old deer? How will
you encourage all the hunters to shoot those certain
deer? Most hunters want a trophy
deer or healthy venison than a young or crippled deer.
From:
Farmers & the Dell - farmer - EHHS
Ask
11/4/2009
8:40:00 AM
Cattle in this area is used to the parsites the have and
can possibly pass on to the
livestock from the deer, and if it does get passed on
then there is treatment that can be
given to the livestock to treat them.
From:
squirrel huggers - forest - EHHS
Ask
10/28/2009
7:45:00 AM
our point of veiw quite honestly is a lot more unbiased
than yours, as the forest it would
seem that our point of veiw is neither as limited or as
narrow minded. our proposal
throws more than just one proposition on the
table.......our question too you would
be...what about the enviorment, and have you considered
how hunters will act in the long
run? I mean come on this all means less deer.
|
POV
Old McDonald- Petersburg
H.S
10/26/2009
As a farmer, I depend on my crops as my financial
source. Deer make it almost impossible
to keep a plantation. To prevent destruction of my
farm, I have been forced to set up
fences in order to maintain a successful harvest.
This has cost me extra expenses and in
these times I can barely afford it. Also, eventually
I have to repair any damages to these
fences. It seems to be more of a hassle than it is
worth. Overpopulated deer herds have
cost society a major loss in agriculture, as R.J.
Meere described. (1)
A normal population of deer should have around 20
to 25 deer per square mile, claims
Meere. (1) Grant County has approximately 45 deer
per square mile on average. (2) Most
damage that is done to my crops is right before the
harvest. According to Christopher
Simeral, farmers get upset because the deer are in
our gardens and fields at a time when
we are not allowed to hunt them. (3) A main concern
of William N. Grafton is the fact that
deer damage crops and spread disease from deer to
livestock. His surveys during the past
decade indicate deer damage costs West Virginia’s
agriculture about $35 million dollars
annually. (4)
A solution to our problem could be damage permits
that are given to farmers during the
harvest season. Nathan Nesselrodt states that damage
permits are given to us farmers
starting in mid July and continuing until the end of
August. (5) We would like to see the
permits extended for a longer period, maybe all year
long.
1. Meere, R.J. “Deer Overpopulation is a
Serious Problem.” Sea Coastal Online
(2008):n.pag.Web. 5 Oct 2009. <http://www.seacoastal.online.com/articles/20081023-
sports-810230378.>
2. (2007). Deer Per Square Mile. Retrieved
from
<http://www.cacaponinstitute.org/hs_chat.htm>.
3. Simeral, Christopher, Barnes, Scully, and
Appelman. “Deer Overpopulation Causes
Problems.” extension.org. 07 Nov 2007. Cooperative
Extension System, Web. 5 Oct 2009.
<http://www.extension.org/pages/Deer_Overpopulation_Causes_Problems.>
4. Grafton, William. (1993, January). Deer
and Agriculture in West Virginia. Retrieved from
http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/pubnwsltr/TRIM/821.pdf
5. Nesselrodt, Nathan. “Personal
Communication.” 8 October 2009.
Ask a Thoughtful Question or Respond
Thoughtful
Questions
From:
Simply for Nature - Other Stakeholder - SCHS
Statement
11/4/2009
10:40:00 AM
Okay yes, this makes sense to me and you do have a
point. However, when you say
permits what exactly do you mean by that? Do you mean
that you’d have the permission
to hunt the dear on your property from mid July to the
end of August? Yes, they need to
be controlled but if someone is going to go trigger
happy because they’ve got this piece
of paper permitting them to do so. I don’t quite like
that idea very much & I don’t think
many others would either.
Response
Old McDonald - farmer - PHS
11/17/2009
7:41:00 AM
You have to realize farmers make a living by producing
their crops just as you
do with your job. Deer create problems on our
plantations and in our gardens.
The idea is to kill nuisance deer not to just hunt out
of season. The permit would
only be available to farmers, which is a smaller
population, permitting only the
killing of deer on their property. The permit would be
issued during our harvest
time.
From:
Students with Solutions - Other Stakeholder - SCHS
Statement
11/2/2009
1:04:00 PM
Extending the damage permits for the whole year would be
a great and smart way to
protect your crops. You will be able to protect the
crops and this will allow you to
have a great financial source. As a farmer you have to
know when to kill and not kill
a deer. If you abuse your extended damage permit, it
could lead to hurting the food
chain. If enough deer die it can change it dramatically,
which will lead to other
animals dying off.
Response
Old McDonald - farmer - PHS
11/3/2009
7:23:00 AM
Thank you! I understand that the food chain is a
delicate cycle necessary to the
ecosystem. I am not looking to kill every deer that
steps onto my property, only
the ones that disturb our crops.
From:
Deer Farmers - farmer - HHS
Statement
10/29/2009
11:25:00 AM
I strongly agree that permits should be given. Farmers
deserve to have the right to
completely control their plantations with all the work
they put into it. Permits have been
arranged for places including Virgina already, why not
us too?
|
POV
Farmers of the Beach-
Kemps Landing Magnet S. 6th grade
11/2/2009
Deer are big, brown animals that live in wildlife. A
male deer is called a buck, a female deer
is called a doe, and a kid deer is called a calf.
They live in forests and around crop fields.
Here, they eat leaves and plants. It is hard to
believe that these animals are capable of
deforestation and destroying agricultural fields.
It’s true! We are farmers and deer have destroyed
our fields many times by eating our crops. They are
reproducing and their species is growing. Their
population size is huge! There are only so much
limited factors to share. They are also causing
environmental issues by eating away the forests.
Sure we love deer, but we need to grow our own
crops. This is how we make a living and live. This
happened for a few years until we finally found a
few solutions.
We could get the city to pay us farmers money to get
tall, metal, fences. We will be paying them back by
selling stores our crops then the city getting the
money back by that. Around our fields we will build
fences high enough for deer to stay out. They can’t
jump in or go around. In another
solution, we will pass a law that limits the hunting
of deer predators, so that deer, as the
prey, will be hunted by their predators in the
ecosystem. The predators of the deer’s
population will increase by a little and decrease
the deer’s population a little. This is a
reasonable and economic friendly decision.
With these solutions, we will be able to still
grow our crops, while deer can still live in their
ecosystem.
Thank you,
Bibliography:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090504094458.htm
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/03/0314_050314_ginseng.html
http://njaes.rutgers.edu/pubs/deerdamage/
Ask a Thoughtful Question or Respond
Thoughtful Questions
From:
The Farmer Coalition in the Deer Issue - farmer - HHS
Ask
11/5/2009
2:17:00 PM
How would the city obtain the initial money to purchase
the fences? More affluent
cities may have the money to purchase them, but what
could more impecunious towns do
to raise the money? Your solution of prohibiting the
hunting of deer predators may be
effective in the long run, but what would you propose if
we wanated the issue of the
deer overpopulation to be resolved in a short time
period?
From:
Farmers & the Dell - farmer - EHHS
Ask
11/4/2009
8:35:00 AM
How would you keep the people from hunting the predators
of the deer, when there is
hunting seasons for them as well? If there is hunting
season for the predators of the
deer than the deer population will increase not
decrease.
|
POV
Funky Farmers- Kemps
Landing Magnet S. 6th grade
11/2/2009
The farmers are very important because the farmers
grow fruit, vegetables, and other
produce. Without farmers all humans would eat was
meat because nobody would know how
to grow crops. The deer have been dramatically
challenging because they are eating
farmers crops when the crops are young. So they do
not grow and this makes farmers lives
a lot harder. Lately many farmers have concluded
that the solution to the deer problem is
shooting all of them the moment they see them. Many
reasons why deer eat farmers’ crops
are because of human impact on deer habitat and
wildlife. The reason deer are eating
crops is because of deforestation and this causes
environmental issues. The deer’
population has become too big for the ecosystem’s
limiting factor, because of the deer
population size the deer threaten farmers’ crops.
Ask a Thoughtful Question or Respond
Thoughtful Questions
From:
Farmers & the Dell - farmer - EHHS
Ask
11/17/2009
8:41:00 AM
If the farmers would shoot the deer the moment they see
them then no one would ever
see any deer. Also you have to have a certain permit
before you can shoot deer out of
season. So therefore you could not shoot the deer even
if you wanted to until you go and
get this license/permit. Also if the farmers would put
corn or another kind of crop out
for the deer then they may not want to eat the crops as
much.
From:
Coconah - homeowner - HHS
Statement
11/5/2009
2:10:00 PM
The grasp you have on the impact of the deer to the
farmers is excellent! I think even
though your POV was short you still told the reader
exactly what you were trying to point
out. Keep up the good work!
From:
The Mighty Oak - forester - HHS
Ask
11/5/2009
2:00:00 PM
What exactly is your solution to the deer problem?
|
POV
Everyone's Problem, a Farmer's Solution- Kemps
Landing Magnet S. 6th grade
11/10/2009
Back in the 1800s, when agriculture was the leading
source of money with many cash crops
like tobacco and corn, farmers had been fairly
wealthy with enough money to support their
family and teach their sons to farm their land or
buy land. Because white-tailed deer, a
specific species of deer, has a fixed diet of
different kinds of plants that farmers
sometimes grow, one key to their wealth is likely
the lack of deer at that time. So what
would happen if there were many deer in one area
where farmers lived? Their supply of
their crops would be low because deer would be
helping themselves to the farmers’ growing
crops. A low supply of crops can have a definite
impact of the lifestyle of a farmer, as
they would not have enough money to support their
family or even themselves. Many
farmers today are facing this problem, trying to
survive in these tough economic times with
a high population of deer.
There are many ways that this problem can be fixed
for farmers and many other
different groups of people. One way that may or may
not work is if experts could capture
a community of deer, not one or two so that the
entire group can function with all of the
members, from one area where farmers are struggling
and then transport them to a
thriving forest or a place like it. However, it may
not work because it could be incredibly
difficult to capture every single deer in a
community, because it is possible that an enemy
of the community had been brought instead of a
member, or because they may have left
one deer and they are lost or confused without that
deer.
A second way that we could survive in today’s
economic struggle to be on top is to possibly
lead the deer away by letting them now that there
is a great abundance of food nearby
and they run to the food as somebody or something
brings it further away until they are
far away from the farmers and human society. This
may not work because if the object
running away from the deer and holding the food was
a car, then it would likely have to be
traveling on the road, which could be incredibly
hazardous to other nearby drivers.
However, this plan could be of benefit to many other
groups of people because hunters
would know the general location of the deer, the
homeowners would possibly be far away
from the deer because they are supposed to be far
from society, and many other reasons
for many other groups of people.
Yet another method to stop deer is building a
fence around a farmer’s land. This method
would involve buying the mesh fencing that is at
least 8 feet high and the post. This method
could be an incredibly pricey option, as the
fencing, including the post, if bought at Lowe’s,
would cost over $10,500 if a farmer has 10 acres of
land and 50 posts. As farmers could
barely support their family with deer eating their
crops, they are unlikely to be able to
easily have this money. Possibly, they could get it
from the government or another body
who can let them pay over time or credit.
In conclusion, farmers need some protection
against deer and them eating their crops. So,
some enforcement must be made, and sometimes they
have to be drastic. With the help of
some people, these goals can be achieved, even if it
requires many sacrifices or takes a long
time to achieve them.
Ask a Thoughtful Question or Respond
Thoughtful
Questions
From:
CI Moderator
Ask
11/14/2009
1:40:00 PM
We appreciate you realize this will require sacrifice
and take a long time. You don’t
mention hunting, are you opposed to hunting? Predators,
like coyotes could bring the
deer population down, would you be willing to allow them
near your farm?
|
POV
The Deer-Loving
Farmers- Kemps Landing Magnet S. 6th grade
11/10/2009
As farmers and stakeholders, our job includes
growing crops and other things for people.
We are important people to our community because
without crops, people wouldn’t have
enough food. We love wildlife so that is why we are
taking part in this cause. The deer are
overpopulated because of their levels of
reproduction. The deer population eats our crops,
which takes away from our profit because we have to
grow the plants again. “In total,
responding farmers expended an estimated 67,855 paid
labor hours and spent $620,073
annually on attempting to control losses due to
deer” (Rutgers).
We have come up with a plan to keep their population
size down but we need some funding
in order to do it. We want to keep these organisms
in their natural habitat without
threatening them. Our solution to this problem is to
use Deer-Away, a deer repellent. It is
quite expensive when compared to Deer-Out but it may
be more effective. “The rotten egg
smell simulates decaying protein and the animals
believe there is a predator nearby. One
application lasts up to 3 months” (Havahart). We do
not want to have too much of a human
impact on the deer so that is why we think this
solution would be best. We could apply the
deer repellent if need be. We would like to ask the
state government to provide the money
to buy it.
Farmers have reviewed other options as well such as,
putting up wireless deer fences,
growing unfavorable plants around the crops, and
putting covers on top of the crops. We
read that a fence is the most effective method to
keep the deer away but, it would cost a
lot (Attra). We feel that the repellent is the best
solution to this major problem in our
forest community because it neither harm them nor
takes a lot of work.
Ask a Thoughtful Question or Respond
Thoughtful
Questions
From:
Farmers & the Dell - farmer - EHHS
Ask
11/17/2009
8:37:00 AM
What are other options for you all to get money if the
government decides they do not
want to pay for the deer repellant? What if the Deer
repellant doesn't work? What is
your next solution for the problem?
From:
CI Moderator
Ask
11/14/2009
1:39:00 PM
Interesting statement; I’m not sure everyone appreciates
some farmers love their farm
and wildlife too. You say you need some funding to
control deer. If $260,073 is
already being spent annually, how much more is needed?
State governments are not
likely to give out more money these days, do you have
any other ways to raise the money?
|
POV
SandyRidge Farmers-
Jefferson H.S
11/16/2009
As farmers in West Virginia we have many problems
with deer. We lose many crops each year and we put
a lot of money into planting and repairing our
fields. We give out permits for hunters so we are a
little less populated, but it really doesn’t help as
much as we thought. When we are planting we fence
around the fields to help prevent the deer getting
into our corn, soy beans, and wheat. When we raise
hay the deer come and eat it before it can even
grow, so we get a bad harvest and we can’t sell the
hay. One main crop we have is corn, but most of
our fields were annihilated by two or three herds of
deer. We hired animal control for the deer
population. They killed over 150 deer, but didn’t
do much impact. I think some ways to solve most of
the problem is each year give out about 3 hunting
permits per acre and see if that helps.
Ask a Thoughtful Question or Respond
Thoughtful
Questions
From:
Farmers & the Dell - farmer - EHHS
Ask
11/17/2009
8:40:00 AM
When will the hunters with the permit hunt the deer? In
deer season only? Or year
round?
|
|