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Answers From Your Friendly Farmer

Question: Do deer really cause a lot of problems for farmers and crops? If so, do a lot of farmers allow people to hunt them on their lands?

Mahoning Valley Farmer Answer:
White tail deer are native to Ohio but were completely eliminated in the early 1900’s because of over-hunting and loss of habitat. Deer have slowly made their way back to Ohio from surrounding states. Today there are an estimated 650,000 to 700,000 deer in Ohio.

Deer cause damage in many ways. One farmer was able to document $70,000 in personal losses on his farm from crop damage due to deer. Most farms do not have this much damage, but nearly all farms have some.

Landowners are sometimes reluctant to open their property to hunters due to concerns about liability, safety, property damage and trespassing. Some hunters cause more damage than the deer by leaving gates open, damaging fences, or tramping down crops by walking across rows instead of with them.

I have been hunting on my own land in heavily wooded areas when hunters have showered me with buckshot. These hunters did not have permission to be on my land and they did not know who was in the area. Even after confronting them twice and asking them to leave, they just complained that I didn't need all that land to hunt on. This is why most landowners do not want strangers on their land.

Since 1961 the Ohio Division of Wildlife has had a program called Hunting With Permission that has greatly expanded the areas available to hunters. Under the program, hunters are required to abide by permits signed by the landowner. In return, landowners are exempt from liability to hunters, can limit the number of hunters, restrict the type of firearm used, and restrict the species that is hunted. For everyone's benefit, signs are provided to landowners to mark hunting locations, no parking areas, and safety zones.

A landowner will feel that you are more trustworthy if you ask for permission to hunt, tell them the hours you will be hunting, who will be with you, how much hunting experience you have, and how you would help preserve their land. You should also use the Form 8924: Permission for Hunting or Trapping on Private Land (can be printed from the web site).

For more information on deer damage to farms and on available hunting areas, log on to the HUNTOHIOFARMS.com web site created August 2009 by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife and the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation. A joint two-year pilot project done in cooperation with Whitetails Unlimited and the Quality Deer Management Association, the program is only available in Harrison, Jefferson, Tuscarawas, and Carroll counties. If successful, it may be expanded to include the entire state of Ohio.
--NOTE: In December, 2011, Ohio closed the HuntOhioFarms program due to lack of response from farmers.

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