WORTHINGTON, Armstrong County — Speaking to about 80 farmers who voiced frustration with crop damage caused by whitetail deer, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Game Commission said new programs are being planned and existing programs are being tweaked to reduce deer numbers on agricultural land.

Executive director Steve Smith and Pennsylvania Farm Bureau President Chris Hoffman met with farmers Monday, Feb. 10, to discuss deer damage and possible remedies at a lunch meeting sponsored by the bureau at the Worthington-West Franklin Volunteer Fire Department.

“For me, hunting started out on my neighbor’s farm. It was ingrained in me from a very early age that hunters and farmers work together,” Smith said.

Expanding the agricultural deer control program and creating a master hunter program are the commission’s latest efforts to help farmers alleviate crop damage by increasing the number of deer killed on farms.

The goal of the master hunter program is to assuage concerns of farmers and landowners about letting strangers hunt on their properties.

The agricultural deer control program, known as the “AG tag” program, would be expanded to more than double the length of time in which AG tags could be used, remove the current limit of four tags per hunter and make it easier for farmers to enroll, Smith said.

In the AG tag program, hunters contact regional game commission offices to obtain a list of farmers enrolled in the program and then contract a farmer to get up to four coupons for that farm. Hunters have to redeem the coupons at a license issuing agent or www.huntfish.pa.gov to obtain a permit to harvest an antlerless deer or doe from Aug. 1 through Sept. 15 and Feb. 1 through April 15.

The nine-member game commission, at its Jan. 25 meeting, gave preliminary approval to several changes, including eliminating the four-tag limit and running the program from Aug. 1 through April 15 allowing the tags to be used during regular hunting seasons, Smith said.

Another change would require farmers applying for enrollment to certify that they own or lease the land damaged by deer. Currently, farmers or lease holders have to provide copies of their deed or lease, he said. An automatic three-year renewal will be available.

A final vote on the changes is scheduled for the commission’s next meeting April 11-12 in Harrisburg.

Under a master hunter program that is being developed, experienced hunters with no game law violations in a certain time period and with ample time available for hunting can receive enhanced training on respecting private property rights, safe hunting, safety zones and other issues, Smith said.

“Somebody can go through this program and instead of just knocking on a door and just being a complete random stranger that you have no comfort level with, it will be someone who has demonstrated to us that they are proficient; that they are safe, ethical, law-abiding hunters in the hopes that will increase your comfort level and that you’ll be more interested in potentially letting them on your property,” Smith said.

He said 60% of hunters in the state kill zero to one deer per year.

In addition, he said the commission will improve marketing of the AG tag and the Deer Management Assistance Program, or DMAP, in which hunters can get up to four permits to harvest doe on enrolled property during regular hunting seasons.

In the next few months, the commission will announce the availability of grants for deer processors to expand capacity or hire more workers. Smith said the lack of deer processors is a roadblock for some hunters.

Smith touted steps the commission has already taken to expand hunting opportunities, such as establishing a longer archery season, opening the firearms deer season on a Saturday and adding a Sunday, and increasing the number of available doe licenses.

Hoffman said significant changes are on the horizon

“I think we are on a pathway to make meaningful change,” he said.

Ross Grooms said he is considering getting out of the farming business because of damage to his farm caused by wildlife. He said he has been enrolled in game commission programs for years, but none have worked to reduce the number of deer on his property. He said more hunters are needed on farms.

“I burn more DMAP coupons than I give out,” Grooms said.

He said farmers should be given more coupons to give to hunters and hunting seasons should be open when crops are growing in fields.

Requiring hunters to harvest a doe before they can hunt for a buck, creating an early doe season and allow baiting on farms might help lower deer numbers, Grooms said.

Among the problems facing farms is that many hunters only want to harvest trophy bucks, and deer flee to property that is posted against hunting after hunters pursue them, he said.

Farmers can kill deer for crop damage any time of the year, but many said they don’t have the time to shoot, field dress and process large numbers of deer.

Several farmers said the lack of young people interested in hunting means fewer hunters in the future.

One farmer said no one wants to hunt on his farm because a game warden harasses hunters by checking their licenses.

Jason Farabaugh, director of the commission’s southwest regional office in Westmoreland County, said 22 is the average age of the state’s game wardens and most have never stepped foot on a farm.

“When you get a new warden, you’re the teacher,” Farabaugh said. “Some of them have no clue about what you do. Teach them.”

Butler County farmers William Thiele, a member of the bureau’s state board of directors, and his brother James Thiele, president of the county farm bureau, attended the meeting.

William Thiele said he likes the master hunter program idea because it could help avoid damage to properties that neighbor farms.

James Thiele said he agreed with many of the comments made at the meeting, such as the lack of young people interested in hunting and the goal of many hunters to only harvest bucks. He said deer meat should be promoted as a healthy food, and more about deer and hunting should be taught in school.