CH Coakley has secured a seven-year agreement with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services to customize office space at the CHC facility at 6101 N. 64th St., Milwaukee.
Back
Mike Coakley, who farms in Yarnell, started seeing elk in his fields in 2015. Since then, he has shot three for damaging his corn and soybeans. He estimates a $4,000 loss per crop.
But now the elk are digging up his hay fields and eating round bales, as well as stripping bark off trees that have lumber value.
Farmers Waiting on Crop Ruling
Farmers can legally shoot wildlife that damages a cultivated crop, but the Game Commission has yet to determine if hay fits into that category. Until thatâs resolved, Coakley canât do much about forage-gobbling elk.
âOur legal department was looking into whether you define hay as a crop or not,â said Jeremy Banfield, the Pennsylvania Game Commissionâs elk biologist. âHopefully sometime in the near future they can come out with a determination there.â