By David Fleet
dfleet@mihomepaper.com
Brandon Twp — With about four days remaining in the firearm deer season which opened statewide on Nov. 15, the deer harvest lagged by about 30,000 behind the 2023 numbers, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Locally, Lapeer County hunters reported 1,974 deer harvested; Genesee County 1,151 deer tagged and Oakland County 547 deer. Sanilac topped all counties in the state with 3,311 reported harvested. Statewide as of Nov. 26, 107,963 deer were harvested during the firearm deer season compared to 137,074 during the entire season in 2023.
More precipitation and warm temperatures continued through the last weeks of November.
As of Nov. 17, corn harvested for grain had wrapped up in most areas. Ninety-five percent of the crop has been harvested, according to Marlo D. Johnson, Director, USDA NASS, Great Lakes Regional Office.