ORIGINAL: Talondale
Ok, you guys are loosing focus. The original question was what harm is there in baiting. The correct answer has been given; spreading of disease. As mentioned a pile of corn is not consumed in one mouthful so saliva is being transmitted from deer to deer. The only way you could compare the bait pile to standing corn is if you seperated each kernel so that no deer was eating behind another. It could be done by spreading a small amount of corn over a large area but realistically this isn't going to happen. I'd rather not bait (for GMMAT that means bait pile) than loose a good portion of our deer to disease and have the season closed for a couple years.
You are absolutely right. I did lose focus. It happens to me whenever guys in the ag belt condemn feeders. Then they say the cornfield they hunt is a natural food source. The only ag around my hunting grounds are hay fields for the cattle. Not quite the draw for deer that corn fields are.