summer
 

Certainly a unique view that many people, who haven't farmed or been around farms, don't understand.

I know allot of hunters look down on the crop damage control "hunts" that I participate in. But thats a Farmers paycheck and livelihood. It all depends on how you look at it!

Personally I understand the need for damage permits, and harvesting deer throughout the growing seasons etc. It's provided allot of extra meat for myself and a few families I've helped out with it as well.

But I also enjoy and love to hunt in the fall too. I'm not a "trophy" hunter and likely never will be. Just enjoy the chase.

-Jake

Any pictures you can share? Must be a sight to see.

Most of my hunting is dealing with and trying to prevent crop damage. I've spent many a night sitting guard on a ripe grain field.

Here Hogs are the main culprits and ours are way smart. They wait until a ragging storm or the darkest nights to raid a field. I've watched them follow a zig-zag path that takes them as far as possible away from high seats and shooting towers.

I spent weeks watching over a field of Strawberries, they were finally harvested, crated stacked and awaiting a morning pickup. A serious thunderstorm moved through, vision was maybe 10 yards. The next morning the aftermath was horrendous, the Hogs had tipped over most of the crates and destroyed almost all of the crop.

I've seen Hogs destroy five acres of ripe grain or Corn in a single night.

The Fox get into the stacked Hay rolls and set up housekeeping. A half dozen rolls reek of Ammonia, the Cows refuse to eat the stuff. I've hunted Fox in a graveyard. Fox are diggers, it doesn't take much imagination to imagine what the possibilities are. One farmer was raising a thousand eating Ducks. The Fox hit him almost every night. It took the Fox maybe four months to wipe him out. Those Fox were smarter than me, I only got one, I hit it with my Jeep by accident.

My home garden is shot. The deer ate almost everything that came up and have even eaten some of the green tomato's. Ironically last year was the first year in about 20 that I didn't get my deer. They have over run the Island I live on and are in the yard every night eating gardens along with shrubs and soon they will be camped out in my orchard pulling off the apples that are low enough. I have lived here for almot 18 years and never had this much of a problem. I even did the fish line 3 tier fence that always worked before but they must just jump it now and it always used to keep them out. Once figured out the word probably spread that it was good food and easy to get to. That first doe that got over the fence probably taught her fawns and then they in turn taught their fawns. Now the whole herd knows about my garden.....

MudderChuck, those sound like some very fun challenges. :D any pictures?

Bummer on the garden CI. Can you get any depredation permits?

No not for a home non commercial garden. The Island is flat about 10 miles long and no more than 2 miles wide. The land is mainly agricultural and wooded on the interior and with vacation and high end homes along the water where I live. Almost all the land is private and there are way too many posted signs to allow a reasonable harvest to keep numbers down. Winters are harsh here in Vermont but the Island actually has a milder climate due to the influence of Lake Champlain which is huge. The state understands we have too many deer and issue more and more doe permits but since most of the land is posted not that many deer are harvested. I am thinking next year that I may have to put a fixed 5 to 6 foot fence up if I want to keep them out. It seems as time goes on they are getting smarter and more brazen. I have 4 ornamental cedars that grow tall and skinny. The bases of all 4 are now skin and bones as high as the deer can reach. That started last year during the winter when deer really go for cedar and they are still eating it which is strange since there is so much other stuff to eat.

I really think most people have NO clue how much damage wildlife does to crops, be it elk, deer, bears crows, raccoons or??
I have part time farmed and friends with many full time farmers and I have seen acres of damage from bears in one field, I have sen acres of damage from crows
you just cannot imagine how a flock of crows every day for weeks , how much they can eat!
this is why there is crop insurance, and why farmers in most places can legally control some of the numbers of things that eat there crops!
nature of the beast
you plant food, things will come to eat it!
Killing things for eating, things we plant? has a double edge sword view I guess to some too!


also,
yrs ago it was the MAIN reason most farmers allowed hunters on there lands, to help curb the damage
but some how, hunters ruined it , they started doing damages of there own to lands, and the game changed!, law suits, thieft, and lack of consideration , ruin it on the whole in most farmer
add in so many these days will PAY money to hunt good farm lands
and its a odd sort we all enjoy !

I don't take many pictures, I'm really bad at it. Though I do have a new phone I'm learning how to use. I do have a few good Dog pictures.

My son isn't really into hunting, he is the talented photographer. My brother actually made some money with wildlife photography. I fix things, shoot straight and tell stories.:)

I have experienced the same this year as Champlain Islander. One doe has been hanging around my property and had a couple of fawns. She has eaten most of my garden, including corn, bush beans, cucumbers and then ate my still green cantalopes and watermelons! The only thing she hasnt eaten are my tomatoes and squash or anything behind my 8' fence.

I have been spraying coyote urine around the perimeter of one garden and my lope/watermelon patch and it used to keep them and the coons out. Not this doe! She is not bothered by the smell at all. There is plenty of food out there in the woods, but she prefers my garden. I usually leave the deer alone on my three acres and hunt on two leases, but I am rethinking that now......

gardens are just prime food sources for wildlife, you MIGHT think there is lots of food in the woods, but not a lot in one small area and of prime servings
deer are like people, they like easy meals, can stand in one spot and eat many GOOD things
over what wander about eating lesser foods LOL

its just part of planting food where wildlife lives
if you want your farden safe, you do HAVE to fence it in
I will also add this, wooden fence 6+ ft tall works better than any chain link , deer can SEE food, they will attempt to get to it, wooden fences seem to stop a lot of the seeing party and make them less likley to want to jump into the un known, but NOT always

a farm I managed had SO Much crop damage the state stepped up(maybe due to farmers brother worked for the game dept LOL)
and they put a 8 ft tall deer fence around a 60 acre field for him
deer used to jump over that fence like it wasn't there SO< much so
that after about 25 yrs of it being there, tree's fell and smashed down section of the fence and deer would still jump over the fence rather than use the openings from the damage, be them 5 ft away from an opening or not, they still just jumped over that fence!
it was crazy, could spot light the field(legal to do so) and see a 100+ deer ion it every night, and folks a 1/2 mile away would tell you, you couldn;t find a deer track if your life depended on it, never mind a a whole deer,
they all lived right next to that field LOL thank god for crop insurance !
and YES we killed a LOT of deer every yr trying to get numbers down, seemed like every one we killed 2 new one's showed up to take its place!, had a few yrs we took over 60+ deer off the farm , and didn;t put a dent in things

Ya it really sucks the rabbits are really doing alot of damage in my garden this year ! Bwahaha !

Farmers and ranchers used to like having hunters but the new breed of farmer (actually landowners they lease the farming rights) don't like hunting at least in my area !