Weather, disease and pests aren't the only things that can wreak havoc on Georgia's agricultural industry. New University of Georgia research found wild pigs to be a startling cause of damage on farms and crops.
Researchers from the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources say that these animals have the potential to create financial and environmental losses, but there are ways for farmers to minimize the damage.
"Unfortunately, these pigs and their impact go just beyond what you might think," said Justine Smith, lead author of the study and a doctoral student at UGA. "They impact our native wildlife and plants, both directly and indirectly. They're incredibly disruptive. They cause a lot of damage."
A new UGA study found Georgia farmers lose over $100,000 due to crop damage from wild pigs alone. (Photo courtesy of Justine Smith)
Wild pigs run amok in rural areas, cost over $100K in damage
Wild pigs are an invasive species that were introduced in the United States since the 1500s. But their rampage on crops has increased over the last few decades.
"Think of a mouse or rabbit and how quickly and how much they reproduce. Now make that into a large mammal and introduce it to an area where there's no natural predators except for people," Smith said. "Wild pig populations basically just exploded, and it has been a growing problem ever since."
Smith, working with The Jones Center at Ichauway under the Albany Areal Feral Swine Control and Eradication Pilot Project led by the Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District with USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, sought to quantify the damage, deploying unmanned aerial systems across southwest Georgia over the course of two summers.
As wild pig populations increase, so does the damage the invasive animals cause, as shown here. (Photo courtesy of Justine Smith)
In viewing thousands of acres of damaged fields and wild pig activity, the researchers found an estimated $107,000 in crop value lost per year.
"That's a lot of money for these farmers, and that's also just based on direct crop value," said Smith. "That's not talking about how much money was lost in worker wages, equipment or other things you can't yet quantify. And this is just one small area of an entire region in the entire country."
Wild pigs uproot the seeds of crops once planted, trample plants in their early stages of growing and sometimes even chew through parts of farming equipment.
This was the case for the peanut, cotton and corn farms, the researchers studied. And all of these crops are essential to Georgia agriculture.
Wild pigs reproduce fast and have no natural predators, making them a difficult creature to combat. (Photo courtesy of Justine Smith)
Population control makes a difference for farms
Recent efforts to limit the wild pig population, however, helped keep the total cost of destruction below the researchers' expectations.
Culling and trapping cut down on the number of pigs in the area, the researchers said. But it was still hard to keep up with the pigs' high birth rate.
The researchers say policymakers need to invest in proactive elimination methods to stay ahead of the wild pig populations and their resulting harm.
"You can't take your foot off the pedal. If there hadn't been continuous removal, we can think about how much more damage there would be. It speaks to the fact that these agriculture-based landscapes need more boots on the ground," Smith said.
This study was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and was co-authored by Warnell's Michael Mengak, Roger Lowe and Mike Conner.
