Deer-kill permits help farmers protect sunflower crop

Wildlife agency allows shootings only as last resort

By Shane Benjamin, Durango Herald

Published September 2, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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DOVE CREEK - Sunflower farmer Bill Waschke's shoes are stained with blood from the 10 deer he shot and killed this summer to protect his crop southwest of Dove Creek.

He used to be an avid hunter. Now, he hesitates to think about deer on the dinner plate.

"It's physically exhausting," he said. "You kill anything in that quantity, and it upsets you emotionally. I'm not a butcher."

This year's sunflower crop is to be sold to the new bioenergy processing plant here, but the highly nutritious seed is also a food magnet for the area's deer.

In the world of economics and environmentalism, the deer - which have devastated Waschke's and other local farmers' sunflower crops - are on the losing end.

The Colorado Division of Wildlife issued about a dozen kill permits this summer to farmers who experienced significant crop damage, said Matt Hammond, a wildlife manager.

The permits allowed farmers to kill a set number of animals depending on the extent of damage caused by big game.

Some farmers received permission to kill five animals and others as many as 30, Hammond said. All permits expired Sunday, in time for archery season.

Issuing a kill permit is a last resort, Hammond said.

"The main reason that it is necessary is so the farmers can grow a crop," he said. "The ultimate goal here is to slow down and prevent the damage so farmers can maintain their livelihoods."

Last year, the DOW paid area farmers more than $200,000 because of the damage.

Farmers have grown sunflowers for about three years in Dove Creek, where a new bioenergy plant is expected to open in November.

There are about 16,000 acres of sunflowers in Montezuma, Dolores and San Miguel counties, wildlife officials said. The bioenergy plant will use sunflower seeds to produce oil for food. Byproducts will be used to power the plant through a gasification process, said Jeff Berman, chief executive officer of San Juan Bioenergy.

It is a holistic approach to eating healthy and reducing carbon emissions caused by gasoline. It also benefits area farmers.

Seeking a balance

But is killing deer and elk to protect crops in line with the group's overall environmental ethic? Berman said yes. An abundance of nutritious crops - including sunflower, safflower, alfalfa, wheat and beans - have helped deer and elk thrive in this region, he said. But the deer and elk population is out of balance, he said.

"What we need to strive for is balance, and right now, with apparently rapidly increased deer and elk populations, we don't have that balance," Berman said. "It is an ongoing competition between humans and every other animal that wants to eat."

Farmers struggling with deer and elk are required to try a variety of "hazing tactics" before the DOW will issue kill permits, Hammond said. Such tactics include making loud noises and using pyrotechnics. Some farmers must experiment with a "liquid fence" - an all-natural deer repellent sprayed onto crops.

"They've got to go through all the steps," Hammond said.

Fences are not a viable option because there are too many acres to enclose, and deer can jump fences. Fences also disrupt migratory paths.

Waschke said he tried using a cannon, shooting into the air and blowing his truck horn.

"After a while, they just stand there and look at you," he said. "They like the sunflowers. They can go out there and hide and stay there all day and eat."

The sunflowers have proved to be an especially tasty crop to deer and elk. Last year, farmers lost 40 percent to 100 percent of their crops to big game, Hammond said. The kill permits have helped this year, he said.

But even this year, there are spots where up to six sunflower heads are missing from rows, and nearby spots where a few sunflower heads stand intact, and then more sunflower heads are missing.

Compensation for loss

State law allows farmers to collect compensation from the DOW when big game damages significant portions of crops. Last year, the DOW paid $965,527 to farmers statewide, including $213,000 to sunflower farmers in the Dove Creek area - the state's only region to experience sunflower crop damage.

By comparison, the DOW paid $26,000 in sunflower crop damage during the fiscal year 2006-07 in the Dove Creek area, and nothing in the years before.

The DOW is trying to connect hunters with landowners like Waschke, who want hunters to help thin the numbers.

When farmers kill a deer or elk, they must then gut and skin the animal and notify the DOW of the kill. This takes about three hours, Waschke said. The meat is usually given to families who request it.

Residents agree that the bioenergy plant will be a boon to Dove Creek. It will create 11 jobs and support farmers. The market for organic sunflower oil is strong with the recent health concerns arising from trans fats.

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