Four years ago, first-generation farmer Shawn Petersen of Croswell saw about 50 deer feeding in his fields every night; at roughly $200 of damage per deer, 'the crop damage obviously added up', he told Michigan Farm News. Today his farm hosts Hunt Michigan Collaborative (HMC) hunts, which connect new and seasoned hunters with farms that need help managing deer.

'There's less deer damage or soybean damage from the deer in the fields, and in my opinion, I've seen more healthier, bigger bucks around as well,' said Petersen, a St. Clair County Farm Bureau member. 'There's still plenty of deer around, but it does seem to help my yields.'

On 12 September the HMC/National Deer Association farm tour programme hosted seven hunts across Kalamazoo, Gratiot, Sanilac, St. Clair and Washtenaw counties, with almost 100 participants and leaders, including on a 370-acre parcel of Petersen Farms, said HMC board member Frank Pizzo. The collaborative works with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to secure Deer Management Assistance Program permits for antlerless deer in targeted areas, addressing the challenges of the state's Deer Management Initiative: limited private-land access, falling hunter numbers, high deer densities and crop damage.

Venison from the early antlerless hunt can be kept by the hunter or donated to programmes such as Hunters Feeding Michigan. 'You got a farmer wanting deer taken and a hunter who needs access,' Pizzo said. 'So, we got a win for the farmer, a win for the hunters getting access, and then a win for the soup kitchens.' Only 20% of Michigan hunters harvest a doe, said NDA president Michael Ketelaar, and most state DMAP tags for crop damage go unused: 'The sooner you can get some of those antlerless deer off the landscape, you begin protecting agriculture.'

HMC hunters harvested 96 does across several counties in 2025; with the number of participating farms doubling this year, the group expects a larger harvest and plans to expand to more counties and farms in 2027. 'Everyone wants to be a part of this,' Pizzo said.

Source: Michigan Farm News