A packed house and just under 10 hours of discussion — all on one topic: Deer hunting and management in Michigan.
Yes, you read that right. Nearly 10 hours of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) Natural Resources Commission (NRC) meeting was devoted to deer on Wednesday, and Michigan Farm Bureau members and staff were in attendance to share their thoughts and the organization’s policy perspectives.
Those top perspectives include a proposed one-buck rule, reduced statewide bag limits on antlerless deer and DMU-based bag limits, and Antler Point Restrictions. The one-buck rule would limit hunters to a single antlered deer per year, a change from the bag limit of two antlered deer per year. Michigan Farm Bureau (MFB) opposes this proposal.
Additionally, DNR proposed to shorten the muzzleloader season, start the late antlerless firearm season earlier, and combine the Liberty Hunt with the early antlerless firearm season.
Another requested amendment? Move rifle season back and shorten nine days.
All hunting proposals will be voted on May 13 at Treetops Resort in Gaylord.
“The commission is considering a number of changes detrimental to agriculture,” said MFB Associate Legislative Counsel Justin Tomei.
“The time is now for Farm Bureau members to engage and tell their story, reinforce why we need to maintain and expand on the tools we currently have, and avoid adopting regulations that hurt farmers.”
Gratiot County Farm Bureau President Logan Crumbaugh said he’s utilized crop damage permits for nine years. While he thanked DNR and NRC for the advances they’ve made so far, he said there’s more work that can be done, especially when considering that only about half of crop damage permits issued are being utilized.
“That is not due to a lack of seeing deer — it's due to a lack of timing,” Crumbaugh told the commissioners, noting that most of the times farmers can hunt deer are June, July and August.
“We're busy tending to fields, tending to animals, tending to crops, and not to mention, you know, shooting a deer when it's 85 degrees out and it gets covered in flies is not all that fun, and we question the safety of it as well. I think that there are great expansions that can be made to this program, including more winter opportunities to hunt.”
Huron Shores Farm Bureau member Corby Werth expressed his concerns about doe tagging proposals, sharing his perspective running his fourth-generation dairy farm in Alpena, which is in the Modified Accredited Zone where bovine tuberculosis has been previously detected.
“The doe tag thing is a huge deal for us because how are we going to shoot more deer with less permits?” Werth said.
“With deer numbers increasing, that just doesn't look good on the ground, and our sportsmen are decreasing. I think some of these changes that have been brought forward, I understand, because I am a sportsman, but I believe we're in a generational slide — that we’ve got a generation of young people that aren't interested in hunting. They're not interested in many natural resource things.”
Michigan’s total deer harvest for 2024-25 increased 5% from the previous year, as new hunts and extended seasons gave hunters more opportunities to shoot a buck or doe. However, those numbers pale in comparison to the 1990s, when harvest numbers almost doubled the 300,000 reported for 2024.
Part of that decline stems from hunter participation, sources tell Michigan Farm News. That figure is near 600,000 and down almost 25% from 25 years ago.
Jackson County Farm Bureau member Matt Reinker referenced the loss of hunters in his comments to the commissioners. He urged them to consider actions that would reduce the deer herd and recruit more hunters.
“Turning the whole state of Michigan into a deer ranch for the antler point restrictions is not going to help either problem,” Reinker said.
In the weeks ahead, Michigan Farm Bureau will call on members to continue to share stories with the commission.
“They are the experts on their farms, the tools they need, and the problems they face,” Tomei said.
“The commission needs to hear these stories.”