Appetite for destruction. Deer are wreaking havoc on Georgia farmland with a massive $152-million annual cotton bite. Whitetails are now the No. 1 economic pest of cotton, passing yield losses and control costs for Palmer amaranth, root-knot nematode, and stinkbugs, according to University of Georgia Extension data.
“The numbers are devastating for growers already dealing with so much hardship,” says Camp Hand, UGA Extension cotton specialist, “and there’s no way this will be fixed anytime soon.”
Call to Action
In 2023, Hand noted a steady pattern of alarm—consistent phone calls from trusted voices within Georgia agriculture relaying a recurring theme: We have a genuine and growing deer problem.
“My first step was to find out how bad the problem was according to growers,” Hand says.
From September 2023 to March 2024, Hand distributed an extensive statewide survey to producers, crop consultants, and Extension agents regarding the scope of deer-related damage. With data collated from 525 growers on 449,821 acres, 29 consultants on 352,625 acres, and 16 Extension personnel representing 259,000 acres, the results were eye-opening, published in May 2024.
According to Hand’s survey, 33% to 41% of represented acres were affected by deer predation, resulting in a 34% to 42% annual yield loss on the same ground. Roughly $51 to $73 per acre was spent by growers on deer mitigation: depredation permits (70.6%), replanted crop (64.2%), applied repellents (52.1%), fencing (11.7%), and other methods, including artificial noise makers (14.4%).
Further, all groups (growers, agents, consultants) considered deer to be the top economic problem in cotton rows, above Palmer amaranth ($104,650,800), root-knot nematodes ($81,901,350), and stink bugs ($58,521,420).
Per Hand’s research: ... growers ($152,645,492), consultants ($139,563,108), and county agents ($151,417,461) believe that white-tailed deer are the most significant pest of Georgia cotton.
“When we gathered evidence that deer were worse than pigweed, that was big-time alarming,” Hand says. “It’s an average, and certainly some growers have no problems, but there are others dealing with a far higher degree of deer damage. Consider all the worries a grower has right now in this farm economy, and then throw in deer predation and a 35% or 40% yield loss. That is devastating to a grower’s pocketbook and well-being.”
“These survey results are a call to action.”
All Night Long
In 1950, Georgia’s deer population stood at a mere 6,000. Decade over decade, in a major conservation achievement story, whitetail numbers climbed to 1.4-1.5 million by the mid-90s, and today hover at 1.1-1.2 million. However, deer management success has become a crop management nightmare.
Alongside the climb in deer numbers, cotton acreage has steadily risen since the early 1980s, when boll weevil pressure reduced Georgia cotton to 115,000 harvested acres in 1983. In 1987, growers began participating in boll weevil eradication, and cotton climbed, propelling Georgia to its current 1.1 million acres of white fiber. Cotton is the top row crop in the state, followed by peanuts at 850,000 acres; corn at 440,000 acres; and soybeans at 160,000 acres.
Deer have seized cotton opportunity. Spring through fall, whitetails need to consume roughly 6-8% of their body weight per day in foliage. And where can a buffet of green growth be found in abundance come spring or early summer? On 1.1 million acres of Georgia cotton.
“Like with most crops, deer are more of a problem in cotton the two weeks after planting,” Hand explains. “They like the fresh, tender growth of a cotton seedling. But if they bite below the cotyledons (first leaves), the plant dies. If they bite above, there may not be enough time to make a crop. And the deer feed throughout the crop year—leaves off mature plants, young bolls, and even regrowth off the bottom of defoliated stalks. If it’s there, they’ll eat it.”
How can 1.1 million four-legged eating machines be controlled?
“One thing for sure,” Hand adds. “You can’t stay up all night long with depredation permits, over and over, and then try to farm all day. That is not a long-term management plan.”
All Hands on Deck
Tighten the crosshairs. Hand recommends a deeper look into grower losses from whitetail predation. “We’ve got to find out what we’re really losing and in what situations we’re losing more than others, and what we can do to reduce those losses. I’ve got students working and putting up exclusion cages in fields for the whole year, and we’re getting that data together now. Also, we want to find out how different maturity varieties do in fields with historically high levels of deer damage.”
At present, management plans exist for all top-tier cotton pests—except deer. With growers already spending $51 to $73 per acre on deer control, Hand warns against “grasping at straws.”
“Spending that much money for something that is hit-or-miss is rough. Some mitigation efforts like deer repellents are not proven. I’ve seen repellent work and not work.”
Annually, Georgia hunters harvest close to 300,000 whitetails. Hand points to the immediate positive impact of Hunters for the Hungry: “We’ve got a lot of guys that hunt but don’t necessarily harvest does. They want a trophy buck—me too. But I also want to harvest does, and Hunters for the Hungry makes sure that meat goes to people in need, and it’s a good cause that also helps agriculture.”
UGA Extension is working with the Georgia Cotton Commission, Cotton Incorporated, Georgia Farm Bureau, and other Cotton Belt universities to find a viable solution to deer predation. Hand calls for a concerted effort to deal with a $152-million break in the cotton chain: “We need help from the outdoor industry and natural resource departments—everyone”
“There’s not going to be a snap-of-the-fingers solution because it’s going to be a long road,” Hand concludes. “But we’re going to find the right management solutions because growers can’t handle this alone.”
For more from Chris Bennett (@ChrisBennettMS or cbennett@farmjournal.com or 662-592-1106), see:
Corn and Cocaine: Roger Reaves and the Most Incredible Farm Story Never Told
Cottonmouth Farmer: The Insane Tale of a Buck-Wild Scheme to Corner the Snake Venom Market
Bagging the Tomato King: The Insane Hunt for Agriculture’s Wildest Con Man
Ghost in the House: A Forgotten American Farming Tragedy
Priceless Pistol Found After Decades Lost in Farmhouse Attic
Bizarre Mystery of Mummified Coon Dog Solved After 40 Years
American Gothic: Farm Couple Nailed In Massive $9M Crop Insurance Fraud
Evil Grain: The Wild Tale of History’s Biggest Crop Insurance Scam
Fleecing the Farm: How a Fake Crop Fueled a Bizarre $25 Million Ag Scam
The Arrowhead Whisperer: Stunning Indian Artifact Collection Found on Farmland
Skeleton In the Walls: Mysterious Arkansas Farmhouse Hides Civil War History
