AKKjocntor FaraUnfl, Saturday, Hay 23, 1992
OPINION
The Whitetale Deer Problem
The whitetailed deer is commonwealth property, which means
the state deer herd belongs to every resident of the state. And if
everyone owns them, then everyone is liable and responsible for
the damage caused by them.
In other words, crop-damaging deer are a problem for the entire
state not just hunters and not just fanners seeking to preserve
crops.
It's time for the state to either start addressing the deer problem
meaningfully, or start coughing up some dollars to pay for deer
damage.
The state Game Commission has the responsibility for the prop
ogation and managment of game animals and birds (public
property).
It does this through guidelines, which are law. The program is
supported almost entirely through hunter’s dollars.
However, the commission does not have full authority to do its
job. It is not allowed the tools to fully manage public property
(deer) on private property.
The failed attempts by the Game Commission to reduce problem
deer herds by opening up special seasons and hunting areas reinfor
ces the fact that the problem deer are untouchable the fields of
damaged crops are not where the deer spend most of their time.
They hide-out, typically, on neighboring land which is posted
against trespassing.
Posting is the problem.
If the public had proper access to its property (deer), there
wouldn’t be a problem with large populations of deer coming off of
private property to eat a farmer’s cultivated crops.
Therefore, the whole issue should be legally considered as a
matter of private property rights conflicting with the public’s right
of access to public property.
Some possible solutions would be to:
• Identify those posted private lands which harbor nuisance deer
herds and condemn the privacy to allow public access for deer
hunting.
This is not a proposal to open up farmland where the deer are
causing problems. Instead, it’s a proposal to allow hunters to go
onto those posted lands which surround the damaged farmland.
Private landowners whose properties haibor nusiance deer
populations, as identified by the Game Commission, would have to
allow hunters on their land, outside of safety zones, for the duration
of deer hunting seasons.
Think of it this way: If someone’s land is harboring large popu
lations of disease-carrying, crop damaging rats, the state would
come in and condemn the site for cleanup. Large populations of
disease-carrying (ticks with Lymes disease, bovine tuberculosis,
etc.) deer should be considered the same in these situations.
Or ...
• Allow, as the Pennsylvania Farmers’ Association (PFA)
requests, a permit system to allow those who suffer crop damage a
way to reduce the damage.
PFA asks that the Game Commission provide farmers suffering
crop damage with deer kill permits. The permits would then be
given to friends or strangers who would harvest nuisance deer prior
to the regular hunting season.
Stipulate that the deer damage must be authenticated by com
mission personnel; and that damaging deer populations must be
migrating daily or seasonally from adjacent posted lands. If a land
owner purposefully allows deer to be protected on his own land and
they cause crop damage on his land, that landowner shouldn’t have
any relief.
As an incentive, personal injury liability should be released
against private landowners who allow hunting. It could be done
similarly to what the insurance companies do now with auto
insurance if the hunter would sign a waiver of his right to sue,
he would be allowed on the property to hunt.
Or ...
• Make the private landowner liable for damages caused by not
allowing the public to harvest its property (deer). In this case,
financial retribution for deer damage would be levied against those
private landowners whose posting allows deer numbers to grow
unreasonably and ravage neighbor’s crops.
When the bill for damages would come due, it would be interest
ing to see how many of those landowners (especially nonresidents
and those who have created large private hunting preserves at far
mers’ expense) would continue to post their land against hunting
deer.
No one wants to see private property rights abridged recklessly.
However, something must be done.
The PFA permit proposal seems to be the most reasonable and
acceptable method for control.
now is
THE TIME
By John Schwartz
Lancaster County
Agricultural Agent
To Reduce
Crack Eggs
Crack eggs are costing the egg
producer money. Cracks reduce
the number of Grade A eggs you
produce.
This reduction in Grade A eggs
will reduce or eliminate the bonus
you receive from your contract
To make egg production profit
able. you need to be making your
bonus payments. In addition, crack
and broken eggs will increase the
number of dirty eggs produced,
increase your cleanup time, and
cause a breeding area for flies and
bacteria.
There are several easy things
you may do to reduce cracks.
Slow down the egg packing
equipment as the flock ages. As
speed increases, the number of
cracks increase.
Keep equipment adjusted on a
daily basis. Do not wait until the
equipment breaks before making
adjustments and repairs.
Remove all dead birds from
cages. A dead bird may cause an
egg jam that will break eggs and
place a lot of eggs in the pit.
By paying attention to details
and handling eggs gendy, you will
be able to keep crack eggs to a
minimum.
To Think
Child Safety
Tuesday’s front-page story in
the USA Today was titled “Fields
of Danger.” It was an article on the
number of children hurt or killed
on farms.
As we start the spring and sum
mer farm activities, we need to be
constantly thinking safety.
A Purdue study found children
from the ages of 2-4 were most at'
risk as bystanders and ages 12-1 S
were another high risk group as
they begin to tackle farm chores.
As a father of two small child
ren, the last thing I want to have
happen is for them to be in a seri
ous accident or killed. I also know
they are very curious people and
have no understanding of danger.
As a result, adults must take the
time to minimize childrens’ risks.
First, make safety a high priority in
your life and set a good example
for your family. Provide safety
equipment for your children, such
as goggles, steel toed shoes, respir-
Farm Calendar
Northwest Jr. Beef Classic Show,
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Clearfield Co. Open Horse Show,
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ators, etc.
Next, it is up to farm parents to
decide when and where children
should be involved in farm opera
tions. Fbr smaller children, child
care may need to be more seriously
considered. A group of farm fami
lies may want to consider farming
a babysitting cooperative.
In the cooperative families, take
turns watching each other
children.
Farming is a dangerous occupa
tion. By thinking and practicing
safety, we will be able to reduce
the number of accidents.
To Be Considerate
Of Neighbors
This weekend marks the begin
ning of summer activities. Outside
picnics, parties, and outdoor activ
ities will be increasing.
As more homes are being built
around our farms and fields, we
need to be more sensitive to our
neighbors’ activities. This will
require more time being spent on
scheduling certain activities such
as manure spreading and spraying.
Spending this extra time could
avoid serious and costly problems
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MAY I
REMIND YOU
May 24, 1992
Background Scripture:
2 Peter 1:1-14.
Devotional Reading:
1 John 4:7-21.
In one of his books. Emmet Fox
says that when people are offered
a choice of a basic course in spir
itual things or an advanced course,
almost everyone wants the
advanced course. No one likes to
be thought of as being a beginner
in spiritual things. But, actually,
says Fox, in spiritual matters the
advanced course is simply the
application of the things we learn
in the basic course.
I think he’s right In my own
experience, what I so often seek to
team about advanced Christianity
is nothing more than the applica
tion of what I already know. Con
trary to what many people think,
there is nothing mysterious or hid
den about the basics of Christian
discipleship. For many of us, the
problem is not that we don’t know
enough, but that we don’t apply
enough of what we know.
Old Truth Applied
I wouldn’t say that I never learn
anything new m regard to Christ
ian living, but that often what I
“learn” is something I already
know and have forgotten. If some
one were to ask me, “Do you
know such-and-such?”, I’d reply,
“Oh, sure, sure, I know that.” But I
tend to forget, even if just momen
tarily, some of the most basic
principles.
So, very often Christian teach
ing and preaching is a matter, not
of revealing new truth about the
gospel, but of reminding people of
what they already have heard.
That’s what Peter says in his sec
ond epistle: “Therefore I intend
always to remind you of these
things, though you know them and
are established in the truth that
you have... I think it right, as long
as I am in this body, to arouse you
by way of reminder.” (1:12-14).
All of us have been taught that,
if we want God to forgive us our
sins, we must also forgive the sins
in the' future.
(This year I received a call about
a fanner spreading liquid manure
on a Saturday night with the mist
drifting onto the neighbor’s porch
and dinner party. Needless to say,
this person was not to happy.)’
If we want to continue farming,
we must become more aware of
our neighbors. Take time and visit
to become acquainted. Be inter
ested in them as people. Discover
their birthdays, anniversaries, hob
bies, etc. Encourage them to tell
you when they will be having out
door activities. Also, tell them
when you must do certain famine
practices so they may plan their
activities.
As one Delaware farmer told
me. a weekend stay at a motel on
him was a lot cheaper than legal
fees he would have to pay to settle
a neighbor’s complaint on noise
that happens several times a year.
By being a good neighbor and
friend, and sensitive to neighbors’
concerns, you should develop a
good environment to farm in.
Feather Profs Footnote: "In
the middle of difficulty lies oppor
tunity." Albert Einstein.
of others. Nevertheless, we often
live as if our forgiveness was quite
unrelated to the forgiveness of
others. Often, when I pray the
Lord’s Prayer, the words, “forgive
us our debts as we forgive our
debtors,” strike me as if they were
almost brand new.
Known or Done?
sn
Maybe the reason we seem to
forget these things is that we have
grasped them only with the mind
and not the will. They are ideas
that we have entertained and
thought about, but never really
made a part of our daily living.
Our minds can easily recall these
ideas, but they have never been
made operative in our lives. Once
again, then, we see that the truth of
the gospel is not so much a thing
to be known as done. It is not a
matter of knowing the right
answers, but of experiencing the
truth of them in our own-lives. I
believe the theologian Kierke
gaard said of a certain preacher,
that when God would call him
home it would not be his sermons
on which he would be judged, but
his life.
Peter is reminding us of basical
ly two things: (1) escape from the
corruption of the world and (2)
partake of “the divine nature"
(1:4). Like his readers almost
2,000 years ago, we know both of
those and, like them, we also need
to be constantly reminded of them.
It is so easy to become corrupted
by the world’s standards. Every
day, perhaps every hour, we need
to be reminded to live by the gos
pel, not the world.
Peter’s second reminder is even
easier to forget: that through Jesus
Christ we can partake of the
divine nature, experiencing the
power and grace of God within.
President Garfield once was asked
why he nodded to a mere news
paper boy on the street Replied
the President: “Who knows what’s
buttoned-up inside that boy’s
overcoat!”
Lancaster Farming
Established 19SS
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St
Ephrata, PA 17522
by
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
Robert G. Campbell General Manager
Everett R. Newswanger Managing Editor
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