Store-Bought Potatoes

[TNTreeHugger]

They will arrest you like a farmer selling unpasteurized raw milk.

I can kind of see why.
But, such a waste and such a problem for so many, including the deer.
What if you opened a deer meat processing plant that was government inspected?
Are there any?
I guess the problem is with processing "wild" meat vs. deer raised on an enclosed farm?

 

[lone wolf]

I can kind of see why.
But, such a waste and such a problem for so many, including the deer.
What if you opened a deer meat processing plant that was government inspected?
Are there any?
I guess the problem is with processing "wild" meat vs. deer raised on an enclosed farm?

@les-or-more

 

[TNTreeHugger]

@les-or-more

Are you reporting me??

 

[lone wolf]

Are you reporting me??

Hell no, just calling in a farmer who knows more than us.

 

[sean donato]

Obviously. that was a bad suggestion! I must confess, I have also thought about putting out something to attract more deer - but I did have the sense to know that was a bad idea, for many reasons, not including all the ones you mentioned.

Why can't someone start a deer meat business??

Till you get through all the red tape, installing stupidly tall fences and importing deer (no, they arnt wild caught deer.) 1, it's not worth it. 2, it does nothing for the local herd population. We have such a short hunting (rifle) season here it's not super effective at keeping the population down. Add in the stupid antler restrictions and needing to purchase separate doe tags specific for certain areas and it's a crap shoot.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Till you get through all the red tape, installing stupidly tall fences and importing deer (no, they arnt wild caught deer.) 1, it's not worth it. 2, it does nothing for the local herd population. We have such a short hunting (rifle) season here it's not super effective at keeping the population down. Add in the stupid antler restrictions and needing to purchase separate doe tags specific for certain areas and it's a crap shoot.

That is so stupid. No wonder wild deer are wasting away from disease. What a shame for all.

 

[Oletrapper]

I'm wondering if that would work?

NO.

 

[3jakes]

Deer,
This year probably won't have any sweet corn since they topped most of it out.
No tassels, no corn.
30 years ago we had the back woods logged out.
The deer bit off most of the regrowth & debarked anything that got to 2 inches.
I hate em.
The wife cries when one gets hit on the road.
Sigh...

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Deer,
This year probably won't have any sweet corn since they topped most of it out.
No tassels, no corn.
30 years ago we had the back woods logged out.
The deer bit off most of the regrowth & debarked anything that got to 2 inches.
I hate em.
The wife cries when one gets hit on the road.
Sigh...

Were they a problem before you had the woods cleared?

 

[3jakes]

Were they a problem before you have the woods cleared?

No, but probably not what you are getting at.
30 years ago we did not have the deer overpopulation that exists today.
Seeing a deer was unusual & folks had to drive "to the mountains" to hunt.
Now days seems youngsters have no interest in going out in the woods to hunt unless a video game is involved.
And,
We did not "clear" the woods as you say.
We did a selective harvest of mature hardwoods.
That left about 60% of the remaining trees standing.

 

[farmer steve]

I had some problems with deer but tolerable until the neighboring farmers leased his ground to some hunters. We used to be able to hunt there until then. Now these hunters won't shoot doe because they will have fawns that might grow into big bucks. They will pass on shooting a legal buck in hopes of shooting a huge trophy. They watch to many TV hunting shows I think.
EDIT. Just drove around my one corn field. (1:30pm) Out of it walked a doe an 2 fawns all with corn hanging out of their mouths and went right into the posted ground.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

No, but probably not what you are getting at.
30 years ago we did not have the deer overpopulation that exists today.
Seeing a deer was unusual & folks had to drive "to the mountains" to hunt.
Now days seems youngsters have no interest in going out in the woods to hunt unless a video game is involved.
And,
We did not "clear" the woods as you say.
We did a selective harvest of mature hardwoods.
That left about 60% of the remaining trees standing.

I'm guessing you live in PA?
My cousin was telling me how a lot of the woods in the Poconos where they own property has been destroyed and replaced with subdivisions, shopping malls, and other human construction that has ruined the scenery for the native residents. I'm sure that also goes for the four-legged inhabitants.
I didn't mean to pick on you specifically, but if others in your area/ state are doing the same thing, that means the natural habitat for the wild animals has been reduced by 40%.

Same thing is going on here. We're seeing black bears more often in residential areas because the forests and wooded mountain areas are being converted into HOA subdivisions.

The animals have got to go somewhere.

Just remembered a very scary YT video I recently watched about chimpanzees (some country I can't recall but I can look it up) wandering in gangs into villages that border the forest and stealing, murdering, and eating infants and anyone else who's vulnerable. The villagers are encroaching on the chimps territory and the chimps are retaliating in a premeditated and organized way.
The chimps have been observed behaving the exact same way towards rival chimp groups that inhabit neighboring territiry.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Here it is... Graphic violence warning!

 

[TNTreeHugger]

How we got here from store bought taters - IDK!

 

[TNTreeHugger]

No, but probably not what you are getting at.
30 years ago we did not have the deer overpopulation that exists today.
Seeing a deer was unusual & folks had to drive "to the mountains" to hunt.
Now days seems youngsters have no interest in going out in the woods to hunt unless a video game is involved.
And,
We did not "clear" the woods as you say.
We did a selective harvest of mature hardwoods.
That left about 60% of the remaining trees standing.

PS: I would say the "overpopulation" problem is due to the 40% natural habitat decline.

 

[sean donato]

40% habitat loss is an exaggeration. While there have been plenty of devopments going up, most of them arnt taking down woodlands. We've seen more and more old time farmers selling out to developers then Forrest/woodland being taken down. Add in smaller farmers are buying up neighboring farms to expand their operations and taking down any trees/woods to expend fields. Fortunately we have thousands of acres of federally and state protected woodlands. It's a mix of reasons why we have deer population issues, not just developers. I still credit 80% of the issue to poor herd management by the game commission, short hunting seasons, stupid antler restrictions, licensing costs, and a general lack of interest in hunting more then anything.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

40% habitat loss is an exaggeration. While there have been plenty of devopments going up, most of them arnt taking down woodlands. We've seen more and more old time farmers selling out to developers then Forrest/woodland being taken down. Add in smaller farmers are buying up neighboring farms to expand their operations and taking down any trees/woods to expend fields. Fortunately we have thousands of acres of federally and state protected woodlands. It's a mix of reasons why we have deer population issues, not just developers. I still credit 80% of the issue to poor herd management by the game commission, short hunting seasons, stupid antler restrictions, licensing costs, and a general lack of interest in hunting more then anything.

Did I say deer population issues are caused by developers alone? Nope.

PS: I would say the "overpopulation" problem is due to the 40% natural habitat decline.

My estimate of 40% habitat reduction is an extrapolation of what 3jakes said:

That left about 60% of the remaining trees standing.

All things considered, there really is no good argument against there being a decline in wildlife habitat.
Three of you appear to be from PA.
Except for the cities and the national forests in the north, it looks like 3/4 of the state is eat up with clear cut crop farms that butt right up to the cities and the forests.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/P...033216!4d-77.1945247!16zL20vMDV0Ym4?entry=ttu

I'm not picking on you guys or PA because it's plain to see it happening nearly everywhere on the planet.

I'm sticking with my 40% estimate on the reduction of natural wildlife habitat..

 

[TNTreeHugger]

What's so funny there, @sean donato

 

[sean donato]

Did I say deer population issues are caused by developers alone? Nope.

My estimate of 40% habitat reduction is an extrapolation of what 3jakes said:

All things considered, there really is no good argument against there being a decline in wildlife habitat.
Three of you appear to be from PA.
Except for the cities and the national forests in the north, it looks like 3/4 of the state is eat up with clear cut crop farms that butt right up to the cities and the forests.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/P...033216!4d-77.1945247!16zL20vMDV0Ym4?entry=ttu

I'm not picking on you guys or PA because it's plain to see it happening nearly everywhere on the planet.

I'm sticking with my 40% estimate on the reduction of natural wildlife habitat..

40% reduction is over estimated.
28,991,096 acres in PA
92.9% rual coverage, including forest, field, and water.
7.1% suburban and urban.
Conservative estimates of forest land 16.58 million acres, ~59%.
https://ecosystems.psu.edu/research...ennsylvania-forest-stewardship-talking-points
There's been no 40% loss of deer habitat.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

40% reduction is over estimated.
28,991,096 acres in PA
92.9% rual coverage, including forest, field, and water.
7.1% suburban and urban.
Conservative estimates of forest land 16.58 million acres, ~59%.
https://ecosystems.psu.edu/research...ennsylvania-forest-stewardship-talking-points
There's been no 40% loss of deer habitat.

"Wildlife habitat."
Your numbers are pretty much meaningless.
I don't live in PA, I can't see what it looks like there, other than via google map - which is an excellent birds-eye view of the area.
I just read 4-5 articles from diverse sources relating to "loss of wildlife habitat in PA" and they all say the same thing.
Here's a more recent one you may be familiar with:

Measure passed by Pa. House aims to protect state’s wildlife habitat​

JUN 20, 2023​

"In April, video of a mama bear herding three cubs across a road in Adams County as motorists waited for the family to get from one side to the other went viral, racking up nearly 4 million views.

Scenes like this are becoming more common, as deer, skunks, black bears and other wildlife are routinely forced to navigate the grid of roadways, fences, walls, and other obstacles that have been built amid their habitat and migration corridors over past decades.

Roads and other human-made obstacles have negatively impacted wildlife in a number of ways, reducing their ability to migrate, find mates, establish new territories, and limiting their access to food and water."

Bastian is hoping Pennsylvania – of which about 59% is forested but isn’t contiguous – becomes a model for how states provide wildlife corridors for its species.

“Our hope is this legislation will provide, literally, a road map for government, land trusts, watershed groups and private land owners to look at a bigger vision of what wildlife needs,” he said."

I hope other states follow suit also.
I'll adjust my estimate to 41%