Landowners and row crop farmers are invited to attend a town hall meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the East Carolina Agricultural Center to learn more and sign up for Farmers Manage Deer program.

Farmers Manage Deer is a new program sponsored by the N.C. Trust Fund Commission and administered by the N.C. Wildlife Federation that aims to reduce crop loss caused by deer.

Participating farmers will receive the tools they need to establish an effective program on their land both as a means of keeping the number of deer in check and as a new source of sustainable income.

For two weeks during the fall 2013 deer hunting season, the N.C. Wildlife Federation will lease land from row crop farmers and help them by recruiting sportsmen through the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumers Services website “Hunt NC Farmland” to jump-start the program.

Hunters will harvest deer according to a property-
specific deer harvest plan with excess venison donated to charity. The N.C. Hunters for the Hungry will process donated deer at Agriculture Department-certified facilities so that the meat can be donated to local food banks.

Enrollment of farmland is now in progress. People interested in enrolling land, volunteering or learning more about the Farmers Manage Deer project should register and attend the Farmers Manage Deer Town Hall meeting in Rocky Mount.

To register or receive more information, contact N.C. Cooperative Extension Agent Art Bradley at 252-641-7815 or Guy and Judy Gardner at 919-608-3386 or guyandjudy@ncwf.org.