GRAND FORKS (AP) - Fewer standing crops this fall in North Dakota should mean better deer hunting.

An abundance of standing corn and sunflower crops hampered hunters last year, prompting the state Game and Fish Department to extend the season into December.

It should not be a problem this year, as farmers in most areas are getting their row crops off the fields. Less cover means the deer will be more accessible when the season opens at noon Friday.

"I think we've got good deer numbers, and by the looks of things, it might even be a pretty good season," said Roger Johnson, a Game and Fish big game biologist in Devils Lake. "Farmers are doing pretty well on harvesting some of the row crops, and the snow in our country packed down cattails. I've got guys coming in pretty optimistic with the cover a little more limited."

With fewer standing crops on the landscape, Johnson said, deer likely will head for areas such as sloughs and shelterbelts. He is encouraging hunters to scout before the season opens.

State wildlife officials are working to get white-tailed deer numbers under control after a series of mild winters that have bolstered populations. A record 145,600 licenses are available, up from the previous high last year of 145,250.

Hunters in North Dakota shot 98,500 deer last year, for a success rate of about 73 percent. Johnson said officials are hoping for similar success this year.

"Hopefully, people will get out and harvest some deer," he said. "If they continue to harvest deer at the rate we've been going, I think we can do it."

All of the extra licenses Game and Fish made available are for antlerless deer. The number of buck tags has not increased. Controlling does is key to controlling overall populations, Johnson said.

"I know from a hunter standpoint, you'd like to shoot a buck," he said. "But from the idea of having some control over the population, we're going to have to harvest the doe segment to reduce the numbers anywhere significant."

Johnson said hunters should enjoy the large deer populations while they last.

"With these high years, we have to experience the low years in between, and they will come back," he said. "Depending on weather and farm practices and everything else, it can change in a hurry."