Penn. Town Hall Addresses Crop Damage and Wildlife

A town hall meeting on Jan. 9 at the 109th annual Pennsylvania Farm Show addressed crop damage caused by deer and other wildlife. The meeting, which took place in Harrisburg, Pa., was led by an expert panel consisting of Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding, Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Steve Smith, Pennsylvania Farm Bureau President Chris Hoffman and Hunters Sharing the Harvest Executive Director Randy Ferguson.

“Pennsylvania’s wildlife belongs to all citizens of this great Commonwealth,” said Game Commission executive director Steve Smith. “With habitat loss, crop depredation, and other wildlife challenges that are facing us, it is vital that we work together to find a solution that is agreeable to everyone and keep hunters on the front lines of managing healthy wildlife populations.”

This meeting was part of a continuing conversation between stakeholders, some of which arose during last year’s legislative push to remove the broad prohibition on Sunday hunting to allow the Game Commission to regulate Sunday hunting completely. Farmers in many cases depend on hunters to manage deer on their properties and limit crop losses, in turn providing hunters with opportunities to hunt and fill tags.

“Pennsylvania Farm Bureau is excited about the opportunity to work with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, the Pennsylvania Game Commission and Hunters Sharing the Harvest as we continue to work to find adequate solutions for our farmers to mitigate crop damage on their farms,” said Pennsylvania Farm Bureau president Chris Hoffman. “We look forward to continued collaboration on these issues and we are looking to bring other stakeholders to the table to be part of the conversation as we work toward a meaningful solution.”

The Game Commission offers programs to help farmers and landowners better meet their deer-management goals. Some allow hunters to obtain additional tags or hunt in longer seasons. That can mean more meat in the freezer and increased donations to Hunters Sharing the Harvest, a program that provided more than 261,000 pounds of healthy venison to hungry Pennsylvanians last year alone.

“We are thankful for the partnership between the agriculture and hunting communities to find beneficial solutions that allow farmers to better control the deer population and give hunters access to the sport,” said Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding.