USA: Deer cost South Carolina farmers greatly, getting worse
Cotton Seed
Published Dec 20, 2023
Tridge summary
In 2023, Cory Heaton received a record number of calls from farmers in South Carolina reporting deer damage to crops. Research by Clemson University estimated the 2022 loss to cotton, soybean, and peanut farmers to be roughly $114 million. Heaton and his team conducted extensive research and found that the deer population in rural areas of South Carolina was much higher than anticipated, resulting in significant damage to crops and substantial financial losses for farmers.
Disclaimer: The above summary was generated by a state-of-the-art LLM model and is intended for informational purposes only. It is recommended that readers refer to the original article for more context.
Original content
Cory Heaton received more calls in 2023 from farmers on deer damage to South Carolina crops in all of his 23 years working as a Clemson University wildlife specialist. The numbers are staggering. Research by Clemson University pegs the estimated loss to cotton, soybean, and peanut farmers was roughly $114 million in 2022. Heaton points out the $114 million figure does not include expenses for deer induced replating, additional herbicide applications, additional repellents, and other such costs. He notes the figures are crude extrapolations and should be considered very crude estimates given the limited data currently available. He said the good news is Clemson researchers are seeking solutions to the problem. “Each year the first thing that we have tried to focus on is determining how many deer are actually out there. We set up these survey routes in rural areas of the state. We are not just counting deer in the fields. We have established survey routes that we have set out and ...
By clicking “Accept Cookies,” I agree to provide cookies for statistical and personalized preference purposes.
To learn more about our cookies, please read our Privacy Policy.