Grass Cutting for Silage Mortality
As the spring season moves on, the time of year is fast approaching when farmers will be looking to take the first cut of grass of the fields. Depending on the weather, this can coincide with the birth of young deer, in-particularly Roe deer.
The modern machinery used for these operations is often very large and fast which can lead operators to being at a disadvantage when spotting well camouflaged young deer, whose predisposition is to not move when they sense a threat.
Research on understanding the full extant of the impact of deer numbers is relatively limited, although European researchers estimate approx. 25 -44% or the yearly recruitment of Roe deer are killed by mowing (see research paper below).
There are various solutions which have some success, however it is appreciated they come with time and, sometimes, cost implications.
Some links to research papers on the findings and solutions to reducing the mortality rate can be found below.
We are happy to help, for free, with any advice or controlled sensitive field checks for any one who is interested, as this forms a very important part of conservation of the native deer species and there management.
Research Webpages;
www.cic-wildlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Mowing_guide_EN.pdf