According to NCDA & CS surveys, wildlife damage costs North Carolina farmers about $30 million in crop losses every year. As development shrinks natural habitats in Craven County, animals like white-tailed deer, birds, bear, and feral swine are turning to crops for survival.
The financial hit is staggering:
- Peanuts: Flocks of birds devouring drying peanuts can cost a grower $50,000–$70,000
- Soybeans: Deer browsing down soybean sprouts can cost a typical farm $40,000–$55,000 in a 10% loss scenario.
- Overall: Even a baseline 2% crop loss costs small-to-large farms anywhere from $40,000 to $80,000 annually.
Farmers love and respect local wildlife, but overpopulation has reached a breaking point. While target ranges sit at 15–30 deer per square mile, parts of Craven County exceed 50–80+ per square mile. Landowners can help reduce these losses by properly managing deer population.
How Management Programs Can Help To manage overpopulation, the NC Wildlife Resources Commission offers specialized relief programs:
- AgDMAP (Agricultural Deer Management Assistance Program): Provides agricultural landowners extra antlerless deer tags for licensed hunters during open season without counting against standard season limits.
- CDMAP (Community Deer Management Assistance Program): Helps residential and suburban areas adjacent to farmland reduce human-deer conflicts and lower local herd density.
Leveraging these state programs is essential to bring deer populations back to sustainable levels and protect our local farming economy. For more information regarding AgDMAP, or CDMAP, contact the NC Wildlife Resource Commission or call 919-707-0058.
