Date of this Version Ripening field corn lost to wildlife was
measured in fall 1993 in 10 midwestern states that have produced
83% of the field corn in the United States over the past 10
years. Sampling of damage was stratified by producer expectation
of likely wildlife damage or unlikely wildlife damage. Damage
was assessed immediately before harvest. Two plots that measured
4.5 m x 2 rows were assessed in each selected field. Of assessed
fields, wildlife damage was present in 340 of 1,259 (27.0%)
likely damaged fields and 108 of 1,243 (8.7%) unlikely damaged
fields. As a percentage of harvested production, birds (Aves)
damaged an average of 0.19% of field corn while deer (Odocoileus
spp.) damaged an average of 0.23% of field corn. Unidentified
wildlife caused the loss of an additional 0.27% of corn. The
average yield loss was 1.73 + 0.17 bu/ha. Loss rates were
greater where producers had expected damage (3.7 bu/ha) than
where damage had not been anticipated (1.5 bu/ha). Among states,
yield lost to all wildl