Fellow Farmers,
We all know how the industry is changing in terms of stricter regulations being heaved upon us by “uninformed� bureaucrats. What is about to happen in Pennsylvania is going to change the face of deer commerce in our state! I will tell you my understanding of the new, upcoming change. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. I will also offer a solution that I think is reasonable but can only manifest itself if we all stand up and “scream� it out loud!!!!
Rule Change… It is my understanding that starting as early as next year that deer monitoring on farms will now be regulated at the federal level and no longer by the department of agriculture of our state. The new and absolutely ludicrous change requires that the state identification tags (small metal, round yellow, etc) must be individually observed and recorded at each inspection on every deer! This will obviously require that all deer either be tranquilized or run through a handling facility of some sort.
Options: There are 2 options offered for deer farmers. If you comply with this you will be able to sell deer as before to anyone in state or out of state. If you choose not to comply or can't, you can only sell your deer within the state of Pennsylvania.
Opinion: This new rule is obviously a game changer! We all know what undo stress this will put on the farmer as well as the deer! Sometimes my face is 3 inches from some of these rusted, tiny state tags and I still have a hard time reading them! Although this new rule may not drive anyone out of business, we can imagine how it will create a glutton of deer for sale within the state and drive the prices down significantly! I’ve had plenty of calls from other states this year looking for more shooters because they can’t find any. PA supplies a plethora of deer to all states!!! This will be more than a problem for PA deer farmers, it will affect the whole industry!
Solution: Aside from fighting this whole heartedly, I think we can propose a reasonable solution. I think that if we as a group lobby for the state to provide larger state tags with fewer numbers that are readily visible that we can meet them half way on this! I’ve spoken to a department of ag representative about this law and it is definitely coming very soon! If we propose this or something else BEFORE it is instituted we have a better chance of compliance on their behalf. Once the new rule is instituted, they will be less likely to budge. We all need to think about this as it will affect all of us nationwide. Again, this will be more than a problem for just PA deer farmers! We need to come up with some reasonable alternatives and propose them now. We must be proactive on this now and not reactive after the fact!!!!!!! Let’s hear what you all think on this..
Vince Fugazzotto
Orchard View Whitetails LLC
610-554-5658
We all know how the industry is changing in terms of stricter regulations being heaved upon us by “uninformed� bureaucrats. What is about to happen in Pennsylvania is going to change the face of deer commerce in our state! I will tell you my understanding of the new, upcoming change. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. I will also offer a solution that I think is reasonable but can only manifest itself if we all stand up and “scream� it out loud!!!!
Rule Change… It is my understanding that starting as early as next year that deer monitoring on farms will now be regulated at the federal level and no longer by the department of agriculture of our state. The new and absolutely ludicrous change requires that the state identification tags (small metal, round yellow, etc) must be individually observed and recorded at each inspection on every deer! This will obviously require that all deer either be tranquilized or run through a handling facility of some sort.
Options: There are 2 options offered for deer farmers. If you comply with this you will be able to sell deer as before to anyone in state or out of state. If you choose not to comply or can't, you can only sell your deer within the state of Pennsylvania.
Opinion: This new rule is obviously a game changer! We all know what undo stress this will put on the farmer as well as the deer! Sometimes my face is 3 inches from some of these rusted, tiny state tags and I still have a hard time reading them! Although this new rule may not drive anyone out of business, we can imagine how it will create a glutton of deer for sale within the state and drive the prices down significantly! I’ve had plenty of calls from other states this year looking for more shooters because they can’t find any. PA supplies a plethora of deer to all states!!! This will be more than a problem for PA deer farmers, it will affect the whole industry!
Solution: Aside from fighting this whole heartedly, I think we can propose a reasonable solution. I think that if we as a group lobby for the state to provide larger state tags with fewer numbers that are readily visible that we can meet them half way on this! I’ve spoken to a department of ag representative about this law and it is definitely coming very soon! If we propose this or something else BEFORE it is instituted we have a better chance of compliance on their behalf. Once the new rule is instituted, they will be less likely to budge. We all need to think about this as it will affect all of us nationwide. Again, this will be more than a problem for just PA deer farmers! We need to come up with some reasonable alternatives and propose them now. We must be proactive on this now and not reactive after the fact!!!!!!! Let’s hear what you all think on this..
Vince Fugazzotto
Orchard View Whitetails LLC
610-554-5658
