Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
PROD
Skip Navigation LinksHome > Deer Impacts > Agriculture Resources > Yield Loss Data  
Choose your County
 
Yield Loss Data
 
 
   The graph to the right represents yield loss data for corn and soybean crops over the years. Corn and soybeans represent the two agricultural crops that have historically experienced the largest yield losses due to deer. For additional Information….
 
  
 
Background
According to the USDA -National Agriculture Statistics Service’s 2012 census, Wisconsin ranks 9th in the nation for the total value of agricultural crops sold. This statistic reinforces the importance of agriculture to Wisconsin’s economy. In areas of high deer abundance negative impacts from deer browsing can have a significant economic impact on agriculture producers. It is important to consider these negative impacts when recommending decreasing, stabilizing, or increasing deer populations in each county.
 
Collection and analysis methods
The Wildlife Damage Abatement and Claims Program (WDACP) provides damage abatement assistance and partial compensation to agriculture producers experiencing damage to agriculture crops from deer. Currently 70 Wisconsin counties participate in the program, Menominee and Kenosha counties are the only counties that do not participate. The WDACP is a voluntary program allowing individual producers to determine what level of deer damage is tolerable to them before deciding to enroll in the program. Through this program information including the number of producers enrolled in the program for deer damage, the number of deer shooting permits issued and deer harvested, and appraised deer damages will be available to each County Deer Advisory Committee when making recommendations to change or maintain deer populations within the county.
 
Using the metric
Agriculture damage and deer shooting permit information can be used as an index to track impacts deer are having on agriculture producers within a county. This data would be useful in determining 3 year population objectives to increase, stabilize, or decrease deer populations within the county and for developing annual antlerless deer quota recommendations.
 
Limitations and precautions
The WDACP is a voluntary program and does not reflect the total amount of agriculture damage that is being done by deer within a county. Individual tolerances to deer damage vary and there are a variety of other social factors that impact a producer’s choice to enroll in the program. For example, there are very few WDACP enrollments in Buffalo County because of the program’s public hunting access requirement even though some producers are experiencing significant damages from deer. To these producers not having to allow public hunting access is more important than receiving compensation for the deer damages.

By Wisconsin Administrative Code participating counties do not need to submit wildlife damage claims to the department until March 1 following the calendar year in which damage occurred and the department has until June 1 to process the claim. Because of these deadline there will be a 1-year lag in appraised deer damage information being available to the CDAC’s, i.e. 2014 appraised deer damages will not be available to the CDAC’s until June of 2015.
 
Future needs
Because the WDACP is a voluntary program there is a need to conduct social surveys to better gauge the level of deer damage that is occurring and what social factors influence a producer’s tolerance to deer damage. there it does not provide a comprehensive analysis of the deer damage that is occurring in each county and the need to identify the social factors within the that determine whether a producer enrolls in the WDACP.
 
Additional background materials related to this metric
Need some text

 
Yield Loss Due to Deer Damage
2024 Total Soybean Yield Loss:       10,936 2023 Total Soybean Yield Loss:       21,655 2022 Total Soybean Yield Loss:       22,896 2021 Total Soybean Yield Loss:       23,043 2020 Total Soybean Yield Loss:       20,797 2019 Total Soybean Yield Loss:       22,666 2018 Total Soybean Yield Loss:       23,323 2017 Total Soybean Yield Loss:       31,366 2016 Total Soybean Yield Loss:       28,857 2015 Total Soybean Yield Loss:       19,368 2014 Total Soybean Yield Loss:       17,050 2013 Total Soybean Yield Loss:       21,925 2012 Total Soybean Yield Loss:       18,407 2011 Total Soybean Yield Loss:       17,810 2010 Total Soybean Yield Loss:       20,892 2009 Total Soybean Yield Loss:       27,994 2008 Total Soybean Yield Loss:       30,661 2007 Total Soybean Yield Loss:       30,369 2006 Total Soybean Yield Loss:       40,191 2005 Total Soybean Yield Loss:       52,431 2024 Total Corn Yield Loss:       30,723 2023 Total Corn Yield Loss:       71,069 2022 Total Corn Yield Loss:       74,631 2021 Total Corn Yield Loss:       76,530 2020 Total Corn Yield Loss:      104,138 2019 Total Corn Yield Loss:       96,941 2018 Total Corn Yield Loss:      113,875 2017 Total Corn Yield Loss:       94,720 2016 Total Corn Yield Loss:      125,441 2015 Total Corn Yield Loss:      101,330 2014 Total Corn Yield Loss:       86,104 2013 Total Corn Yield Loss:      105,910 2012 Total Corn Yield Loss:      101,956 2011 Total Corn Yield Loss:      104,419 2010 Total Corn Yield Loss:      133,582 2009 Total Corn Yield Loss:      169,978 2008 Total Corn Yield Loss:      169,880 2007 Total Corn Yield Loss:      247,596 2006 Total Corn Yield Loss:      245,686 2005 Total Corn Yield Loss:      309,265
 
For questions on this deer metric data contact:
Jeff Pritzl 920-366-3450 Jeffrey.Pritzl@wisconsin.gov