Cereals

Badger Encounters in the Wild book
Superb book of Jim Crumley's encounters with badgers in the wild in Scotland. The quality of the writing is superb. A great  read. Click here to buy: Encounters in the wild

Badgers will sometimes help themselves to certain types of grain. Most commonly, they will help themselves to ripening wheat, oats and barley (as well as maize). However, this is not generally a problem which occurs throughout the year, as badgers will not generally try to live off cereals.

Cereals, particularly wheat, may be eaten, especially if other foods are in short supply. Evidence of badgers having eaten cereals can sometimes been seen in their droppings which may contain seed husks and so on.

One problem is that badgers will sometimes trample small areas of crops when playing or fighting, but, again, this is not usually a year-round problem. On occasion, the small areas do expand into slightly larger areas of damage, if this allows other animals and birds into the crops. Once maize stalks have been brought down, the crop may be more accessible to deer and rodents who may worsen the damage; and wild pigeons may find eat easier to cause crop damage then previously. All this being said, badger damage may be annoying for crop production, but it is exceptionally rare for it to be cause of any significant economic loss.

The solution is to erect suitable Fencing to keep badgers out.

A major problem for badgers is the planting of oil-seed rape (the very-bright yellow crop seen in the huge fields of East Anglia, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and other areas). The roots of the oil-seed rape crop give off a gas which poisons or deters earthworms, As earthworms provide the main part of the badgers diet, this crop can have a detrimental effect on the feeding patterns of badgers and their long-term survival.

It can also help to displace badgers into different food gathering areas - sometimes meaning that badgers will suddenly begin to forage for worms in household gardens and on lawns, and on golf courses and in public parks, rather than in their traditional fields and meadows. 

Badgered to Death
Dom Dyer's polemic on the toxic mix of farming, lobbying and politics and how fake-science lead to badger culls in England. Click here to buy: Paperback edition