The Agricultural Deer Control Program, or Ag Tag program, isn’t new.
Previously known most commonly as the “Red Tag” program, Ag Tag has been around for years, enlisting hunters to harvest antlerless deer on agricultural lands where they’re causing damage.
That said, however, the program has undergone a host of recent changes to make it easier for farmers to enroll and more convenient for hunters to participate. The program is being promoted like never before, too, with Ag Tag season information now being provided alongside the other deer hunting seasons in this digest and elsewhere.
It’s the Game Commission’s hope the Ag Tag program can be more fully utilized to address what’s been a growing number of agricultural deer damage complaints, while helping hunters to fill their freezers with venison.
FOR FARMERS:
By enrolling in the Agricultural Deer Control Program, farmers receive coupons they issue to hunters. Farmers can obtain one coupon for every five acres of cultivated land on enrolled properties. But farmers who request additional permits might be able to get them by submitting supporting documentation.
Any farmer or agricultural landowner wishing to participate in Ag Tag must contact the Game Commission Centralized Dispatch Center at 1-833-PGC- HUNT. Application is made through a game warden on a form provided by the Game Commission. There is no fee to enroll.
Once enrolled, Ag Tag participants need only to issue coupons to those hunters they authorize on their properties. There are no requirements to open properties to the public, and hunters report their own deer harvests, just like they do with other tags.
FOR HUNTERS:
Ag Tag permits
A hunter must have a valid Pennsylvania hunting license or mentored permit, or otherwise qualify for license or fee exemptions, to purchase an Ag Tag permit. Mentored hunters 7 or older can purchase Ag Tag permits (this won’t be the case when 2025-26 licenses go on sale, but likely by September 2025). Ag Tags cannot be transferred, so they can’t be used by mentored hunters younger than 7. A hunter seeking an Ag Tag permit first must get a coupon from a landowner, then redeem the coupon at a license-issuing agent to obtain the permit, which includes an antlerless deer harvest tag.
An Ag Tag permit can be used only on the specified Ag Tag property. Each Ag Tag permit costs $1.97. There is no limit on the number of permits an individual hunter can purchase or possess, but for each Ag Tag property, there is a finite number of permits available. A list of Ag Tag properties can be obtained by visiting the Game Commission Region Office serving the county where a hunter is interested in hunting or by mailing a selfaddressed, stamped envelope to the region office with your request. Region Office contact information can be found on Page 3 of this digest, or through www.pa.gov/pgc.
As with DMAP – the Deer Management Assistance Program – hunters who obtain Ag Tag permits must report on their success, regardless of whether they use tags to harvest deer.
Hunting with Ag Tags
Prior to recent changes, Ag Tag seasons only were open at times of year when other deer hunting seasons were closed.
Now, however, hunters with Ag Tags can use them to hunt and harvest antlerless deer during established deer seasons, too. The Ag Tag season now runs from Aug. 1 to April 15 the next year. At times, such as in August, when no other deer seasons are open, Ag Tag hunters can use lawful rifles, or any other sporting arms approved for the regular firearms deer season in that area. During these periods, Ag Tag hunters must at all times wear at least 250 square inches of fluorescent orange material on the head, chest and back combined, visible from 360 degrees, just as in the firearms deer season. And, as in the firearms deer season, the required orange must be worn regardless of the sporting arm used.
As other traditional deer seasons open, overlapping the Ag Tag season, Ag Tag hunters must conform to the requirements for those seasons. When archery deer season opens, for instance, an archery license is needed to participate and only lawful archery gear may be used by an Ag Tag hunter. When the early muzzleloader season begins, an Ag Tag hunter with a muzzleloader license can use a lawful muzzleloader.
In all such cases, an Ag Tag hunter must follow the fluorescent orange requirements for the season they’re participating in.
There are also times, such as during the regular firearms bear season, when deer seasons are closed, but a hunter with an Ag Tag could harvest an antlerless deer while lawfully hunting another species. In Special Regulations Areas, Ag Tag hunters must comply with sporting-arm and ammunition limits and other applicable regulations. Deer harvested through Ag Tag hunting are tagged the same as with any other deer harvest, by following the instructions printed on the tag. All Ag Tag hunters are required to submit reports on their success, regardless of whether they use a tag to harvest a deer. Ag Tag deer harvests can be reported in a timely manner online through www.HuntFish.PA.gov, by calling 1-800-838-4431 or by mailing in one of the postage-paid report cards found in the centerfold of this digest. Those phoning in reports should have the tag they used in front of them so they can be sure they are reporting the proper tag.
Any Ag Tags not used to harvest deer must be reported by April 30.
THE VALUE OF AG TAG OPPORTUNITY
As deer populations rise or shift from one area to another, deer impacts on agricultural crops fluctuate. Recently, there has been a noticeable increase in complaints about agricultural deer damage. But the Ag Tag program, which could provide relief for farmers, has not been widely used.
Less than 2% of the state’s agricultural acreage has been enrolled in Ag Tag.
By expanding the program, making it more convenient for farmers to enroll, and creating more awareness among deer hunters that Ag Tag opportunities are available, it’s the Game Commission’s hope that Ag Tag can provide a solution that mutually benefits hunters and farmers while helping carry Pennsylvania’s hunting tradition perpetually into the future.