Deer Management

White-Tailed Deer Pose a Threat to Agriculture in Montgomery County

In 2004, Montgomery County’s agricultural community declared that deer overpopulation was the number‐one threat to farming in the County. A survey conducted at that time indicated significant losses to agricultural crops due to deer browse. These losses affected corn, soybeans, wheat, hay, tree fruit, small fruit, vegetables, nursery, Christmas trees, grapes and other agricultural crops. In all, over 2000 acres of agricultural land have been removed from production due to deer crop damage and 2/3 of survey respondents believed crop damage from deer was increasing.

In May of 2014 an updated Deer Damage Survey was conducted, with similar findings:

• 63% of respondents have stopped raising certain crops due to deer damage
• 45 % have made use of Crop Damage Permits
• 97 % allowed deer hunting on land they owned or rented
• 94% say that deer damage is worst on farms adjacent to parks
• 50% have family members that have contracted Lyme disease
• A total of 19,197 acres was included in the 2014 survey which represents 42% of the total cropland reported in the 2012 Agricultural Census (45,557 acres)
• The crop loss of $4,411,786 represents 9.3% of the Total Market Value of Agricultural Products Sold as reported in the 2012 Agricultural Census ($48,341,000)

As a result of the continued and increasing environmental, health, safety, and economic problems caused by the overpopulation of white-tailed deer, Montgomery County, through its multi-agency Deer Management Work Group, has initiated a county-wide deer management effort. Detailed information about deer in Montgomery County, including annual reports and the efforts of other County agencies, can be found at Montgomery County Park and Planning site.

OAG Programs

The Office of Agriculture implements the following two deer management programs:

Deer Management Workshops
These workshops are designed to educate farmers and hunters about effective deer management on private property and are offered periodically.

Deer Donation Program
This Program encourages farmers and hunters to harvest more deer in a responsible manner by providing local, minimum-hassle deer collection sites. It is administered in partnership with William F. Willard Farm, LLC and KS Kuts to coordinate the collection, processing, and donation of venison to local area food banks.

• Information about how to participate in this program – Deer Donation Flyer

According to Farmers & Hunters Feeding the Hungry, 1 donated deer can feed up to 200 people!