Iowa farmer's soybeans destroyed by deer

"I've been farming since 1984, and I've never seen anything like this," Walters said of the damage to his field. "I mean total wipeout. They didn't even leave anything around the edges. It's just completely mowed."

Walters said he would like more deer to be culled in the area to help protect the crops. He's been in touch with Cerro Gordo County Conservation and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, but there's not much they can do at this point. Cerro Gordo Conservation Director Josh Brandt is currently on vacation and unable to comment.

Hunting is not allowed on the Shell Rock River Greenbelt and Preserve that runs next to Walter's field. Walters said he believes only some of the conservation land was originally designated as no hunting, but he said Brandt has given him the impression that all of the 590 acres of woods, meadows and ponds are not for hunting.

"He didn't tell me which one of these fields had the covenant on one of the deeds," Walters said. "The way he talks all of them are non-hunting, but I don't believe that."

Walters did meet with a DNR biologist after seeing the damage done to his mid-May planted soybeans. 

"I've been informed by the DNR that this is all deer damage," he said. "Turkeys didn't do any of this, according to them." 

Ross Ellingson, an Iowa DNR deer deprivation officer, said that deer can damage crops, but they're far from the only culprits. 

"We do hear about Canada geese sometimes grazing on beans and corn if it's close to water," Ellingson said. "Racoons can be a major issue when it comes to crop damage and there's a lot of questions about other things, but most the time the culprit is deer or racoon."

Ellingson said there are multiple factors when crops are damaged, and he receives around 125 complaints per year in his district that covers the northeast and north central parts of Iowa.

Ellingson said there are options for farmers to help protect their fields. The Iowa DNR has a Wildlife Deprivation Program that allows for hunting of antlerless deer for a $13 tag price during the designated seasons. He advises farmers to know the hunting seasons and find hunters who would like to use extra tags. Landowners must prove damage to the DNR before allowing antlerless hunting on their property.

According to the Iowa DNR, the deer population in the state is estimated to be around 400,000 after the hunting season. The DNR also reports that deer harvests in recent years have exceeded 100,000.

Walters said he's not happy about what's happening to his field, but there's not much that can be done about it at this point. He considered replanting, but there would be no point if the new soybean plants were decimated as well. At the moment he's planning to turn the field into CRP land next year if nothing changes.

"I'm really agitated," Walters said. "When you plant you expect the thing to grow. I can handle this, but when you wipe out a whole field, that's unacceptable. I don't know how this is going to be resolved."