Ag damage program
Wisconsin
If anyone has experience with how ag damage permits in WI are allocated (i.e. number per property) or the rights of adjacent landowners, please PM me. And no, I don't intend to apply for them.
The land owner has control who is allowed on the property. I have found it personally difficult to access these properties. As far as adjacent landowner "rights". I would assume there are none since they have no interest in the property. That said not sure I would take advice here as rock solid as you might want to reach out to your local conservation officer for clarification.
HF 43
Neighbor's have no rights.
Here are the rules. Landowners have to let the public hunt.
Note in the rules there are two variants. One with access for hunters. The other is where the owner is issued shooting tags. Access is not required for the 2nd option. Owners can use those tags out of season. The difference in the two options has to do with whether or not the owner receives crop damage payments. Like Skook said, neighbor has no say in the matter.
Was curious as to the science behind how many tags are issued. Thanks for all the input.
It's based on the amount of damage to crops, acres owned, acres in crops, etc.
Yep neighbor gets 20 a year. Shoots some nice bucks, which really helps control the population. No access for anyone but family. My opinion you get ag tags land is open to the public. I wouldn't nor need to hunt it. Just don't believe in the setup.
Seems about every year someone bellyaches about this issue.
It’s easy to complain about the bellyachers until you are the neighbor Of someone with ag tags. I’ve seen this system abused by a handful in Wisconsin and Iowa.
How about the landowners that trade bear at tags for trips out west or for vacations? The system needs an overhaul.
Problem really stems from crop damage tags coming from ag. departments not controlled by dnr, biologists etc.
The crop damage tags are issued by DNR. Specifically by the local biologist.
If you research it all runs through the USDA. That is where it begins.
To the point, wonder how the fella casting judgment on another would feel if he found out that there is not a solid scientific basis behind how permits are allotted on the acreage next to his 160+ acres. After no straight answer from three DNR and USDA folks who administer the program, it appears that tag allocation is strongly subjective based on what a farmer deems to be "acceptable crop damage" even though it is a statute based program, as is the $$ payout to the enrollee.
Funds paid out create a conflict with the number of permits allotted (i.e. although up to $10,000 per farmer can be paid out, there is an incentive to issue more tags to keep the pay-outs reduced to something well below that number).
Tags are handed out in blocks of 20 (fill those first 20 by end of January, and get another 20) at least on the property in question, and so on. So --- let's say your neighbor gets 50+ or so tags each and every year for the past 10 plus years, and allows general hunting as well. Figure in just does, pregnant does, shed bucks, and orphaned fawns - that 50 grows to a really big number of collateral damage each year. THAT affects a wide geographic area, affects other landowners' enjoyment of their property, and reduces the value of a deer to that of a rat (one side of a fence vs. the other). Besides, deer killed on a property over livestock feed bags in winter (Jan, Feb Mar) are drawn in from a large area to an artificial food source - no different than a bait pile - these deer are not resident deer on that program farm during the crop growing season. BTW the general public must be allowed to hunt that enrolled property all year long - that's 12 months. You read that correctly - 12 months.
If that killing program appeals to you, as a deer HUNTER, immediately next door to land that you own, then good on you. If you want to call that belly aching, then good on you X2.
This forum cannot solve the perceived problem. Not saying there is no concern, but the annual belly aching here simply does no good.
The perception is the reality of it. If you are not one of the many landowners across the state affected by the program, then you just wouldn't grasp it.
Never asked this forum to solve the problem. Quite the opposite, I asked for information.
Over and out on this topic.
Cool this is the Wisconsin forum btw.
Does one have to live, hunt and pay taxes in one state only??? Btw?
WhitetailHtr bravo! Just the facts maa'm. Well done
