April 2024 - 10

WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
Managing wildlife on the farm
CAMERAS, FENCES AND OTHER TOOLS KEEP ANIMALS AT BAY
BY CHRIS KOGER
MANAGING EDITOR
F
rom fences to traps and hot
sauce, growers shared tips on
how they keep wildlife from
eating and damaging their crops at
the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable
Convention.
Throughout a session on wildlife
damage control, growers shared
photos and anecdotes of deer,
groundhogs, raccoons, birds and
other animals, and the damage
they cause on their farms. Steve
Sample, who grows a variety of
vegetables and melons at Sample's
Vegetable Farm in Duncannon,
Pennsylvania, constantly experiments
with different spacing of wires -
some of them electrified - to keep
fawns, adult deer and larger rodents
from his crops.
Sample is a big believer in
documenting and learning about
animal behavior with automatic
trail cameras that are triggered
by movement or programmed to
periodically shoot photos.
" Whenever there's a (fence)
breach, we use the cameras to find
out where they're getting in, how
they're getting in, or some way
Raccoons, left, will leave half-eaten ears of sweet corn, or pull some ears
off the stalk without taking a bite. Groundhogs, right, are more thorough.
Photos courtesy of Art King.
we can adjust the wire or even put
another one up, " he said.
Sometimes corn is too tempting
and deer will run through the
fence. Even so, fences are generally
effective if maintained and the wires
are set to deter large and small
animals.
Sample's advice to new growers:
consider the expense, including
labor and upkeep costs, to fence
in entire high-value crops where
animals are a problem. He also said
to be prepared to change plans. He
realized planting Austrian winter
peas as a cover crop would draw
WE USED DETERRENTS, AND THEY WORKED
FOR ABOUT A SEASON, BUT THE CHALLENGE
WITH DEER IS THAT THEY LEARN.
- Jenni Glenister
10 | APRIL 2024

April 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2024

Editor's Letter
The Pest Whisperer?
Managing wildlife on the farm
Weed battle
Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association
Southeast honors
Why every operation needs two succession plans
Biopesticides and beneficial insects
Ag Labor Review
Farm Market & Agriculture
Classifieds
Advertiser Index
April 2024 - 1
April 2024 - 2
April 2024 - 3
April 2024 - Editor's Letter
April 2024 - 5
April 2024 - The Pest Whisperer?
April 2024 - 7
April 2024 - 8
April 2024 - 9
April 2024 - Managing wildlife on the farm
April 2024 - 11
April 2024 - 12
April 2024 - 13
April 2024 - Weed battle
April 2024 - 15
April 2024 - 16
April 2024 - 17
April 2024 - Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association
April 2024 - 19
April 2024 - Southeast honors
April 2024 - 21
April 2024 - Why every operation needs two succession plans
April 2024 - 23
April 2024 - Biopesticides and beneficial insects
April 2024 - 25
April 2024 - 26
April 2024 - 27
April 2024 - 28
April 2024 - 29
April 2024 - Ag Labor Review
April 2024 - 31
April 2024 - Farm Market & Agriculture
April 2024 - 33
April 2024 - Classifieds
April 2024 - Advertiser Index
April 2024 - 36
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