MT. VERNON – More than 125 concerned farmers, hunters, and conservationists aired concerns during a town hall event in Mt. Vernon hosted by State Senator Terri Bryant, State Representative Dave Severin, the Illinois Farm Bureau, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources on Thursday. The subject of the meeting revolved around problems related to the overpopulation of deer that are harming and destroying large plots of agricultural land, especially in southern central Illinois.
Senator Bryant says she appreciates the concerns of those in attendance, noting that she has been working to bring IDNR’s attention to the destruction of crops by deer herds for several years.
“This is not a new problem. It is a growing problem,” Bryant said. “Rep. Severin and I have brought the IDNR and Farm Bureau together to hear your concerns and to entertain good ideas to manage a growing deer population that continues to destroy crops and cost the average farmer a lot of money that they frankly don’t have to lose.”
Rep. Severin has also been heavily involved in helping to identify solutions for concerned farmers after a visit to Frey Farms in rural Wayne County, where he was made aware of the increasing damage to cash crops throughout the region.
“Frey Farms is a number one pumpkin producer in our country, and they are experiencing crop loss that costs them hundreds of thousands of dollars every year,” Severin said. “A doe will poke its hoof into a pumpkin, take one bite of it, and then move on to another pumpkin and ruin it. Take that times thousands of deer, thousands of times per year, and you have a serious economic problem. If we take that example and apply it to the story of every farmer in the room for today’s town hall meeting, we’re talking millions of dollars of damage in economic impact to our agricultural community. Senator Bryant and I wanted to hear directly from our farmers and conservation leaders, and provide IDNR and the Farm Bureau with the opportunity to hear first-hand the damage that’s being done.”
The meeting was a balance between IDNR and Farm Bureau informational presentations, and included questions and suggestions from the gathered audience. Some solutions proposed by attendees included extending hunting hours and the shotgun hunting season, expanding nuisance permits, ending the practice of prioritizing out-of-state applicants for deer tags in the annual lottery, and changing how IDNR calculates the deer population.
Bryant and Severin were joined by Jefferson County Board Member and Illinois Farm Bureau District 17 Director John Howard in organizing and facilitating the meeting. Howard noted the large crowd provides a window into just how large the problem of crop destruction by deer herds has become.
“You can tell by the crowd that this is an issue that is of great concern, and one that unfortunately is not going away unless IDNR, the legislature, and agencies involved in rulemaking regarding land management and wildlife population management get going on solutions,” Howard said. “I was encouraged by some of the ideas brought forward by local residents who turned out in a big way to drive home the point that the status quo simply cannot remain. Our farmers are losing millions because we have laws and regulations that don’t allow landowners to take care of these problems on their own. Southern Illinois farmers are conservationists and have no desire to wipe out deer or pest populations altogether. We are all for the responsible thinning of these herds of deer that are causing serious harm to our agricultural economy.”