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Deer Heaven! |
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A sad state of affairs
by
John Coit
These days the American farmer is looking down a long road pot-holed with low crop prices and high land taxes, as well as bizarre and increasingly unpredictable weather patterns. Farmers are simply irreplaceable to the American way of life, although I'll bet very few of us ever take the time to consider what might happen to food prices should the everyday farmer someday disappear from our country's landscape. Well, the time has come to step to the fore to help farmers out. As hunters, we can become saviors not only to the farmer in general, but to rural communities all over this great land of ours.
Just last night, John Carter, a farmer who lives in Sardis, South Carolina, returned a call I'd placed inquiring whether he'd be interested in a farming a lease for free. Consider what I've just stated here: I've offered a 'no strings attached, no money required' opportunity to work some land that's not his and yet the farmer balked. No, balk isn't the right word. He refused to even consider the idea of working such land!
In our hour long conversation, John told me about what it takes simply to try to make a living from the land. He explained that farming additional property would not mean he'd make enough money to make it worthwhile. Since tobacco allotments have been slashed by the various government agencies, John these days is reduced to row crop agriculture. Tobacco was his best cash crop. The best John can manage these days is simply to break even. In fact, his only income for the past two years has come from the sale of deer corn. This is worrisome in itself, since rumor has it that the state may possibly ban the baiting of deer by hunters. If the state does ban deer baiting, it may be enough to sink at least one -- and probably many more -- American farmers.
Our conversation, however, spawned another idea. As we spoke, I began to understand why farmers are in trouble. Soybeans, after all, are barely bringing $4 per bushel on today's marketplace. But, the wheels in my noggin churned, simply allowing two paying deer hunters access to his soybean crop -- and the whitetailed deer that feed upon them -- for three days would actually double a soybean crop's value with little or no added effort by the farmer. I immediately set to pointing this fact of hunting life out to John.
Every hunter knows that deer and soybeans go together; in fact, deer enjoy corn, sorghum,
turnips,
millet, and many other cash crops as well. By arranging co-use situations
with local farmers, not only have I added a tremendous amount of hunting
land to my bag, but an auxiliary benefit of adding that land has been to
increase the dollar value of their crops for several of our local farmers.
This benefit is seen in more than just cold, hard cash. Farmers invest plenty of time as well as money into working the earth and getting products to market. Ravenous deer can devastate crops, particularly those in remote locations. Luckily, such hidden locales are those most favored by hunters. Time and again, the biggest deer and even the most deer will be taken on the most secluded crop-fields. When a hunter takes his or her post, he or she becomes the farmer's 'sentry:' someone who can help the farmer limit the amount of crop loss caused by the deer herd. Although some people stubbornly believe otherwise, sometimes entire crops are lost to a browsing herd when populations aren't controlled by hunting.
As
a hunting outfitter, it is just good business to match up my clients with
willing farmers. Both parties benefit. My clients bring home their venison,
while the landholder realizes a profit from the animals using his property.
Hunting clubs which lease property from farmers serve the same purpose
and have become quite popular in the South. Quite frankly, paying farmers
for access is a win/win situation for everyone involved.
Why is this a win/win situation? Our author explains. CLICK here to find out why.
