Ummm, ok
Once he saves them he will realize they are mostly on private land in MN and inaccessible to most of us hunters. That is the real reason I go out of state. Bring back pheasants then open up ditches and I will be impressed and excited to hunt here.
Over the last 25 years I have had incredible success knocking on doors. Farmers generally have no problem with me hunting their groves and or CRP. If they don’t want you hunting (say because its deer season…) I just say thank you and go to the next farm. Most farmers are really pretty good about it. It’s the trespasser’s that urine em’ off…RR
Hopefully it goes better than what he and his team have done at Mille Lacs. 
Ummm, ok
Once he saves them he will realize they are mostly on private land in MN and inaccessible to most of us hunters. That is the real reason I go out of state. Bring back pheasants then open up ditches and I will be impressed and excited to hunt here.
I’m happy that at least there’s a focus on the effort and good for the Gov for driving a sense of urgency. I’m all for any effort that will direct more attention and funds to upland hunting and increasing access.
I agree, opening up ditches is one area to consider. But then there has to be some cover left in the ditch to make it worthwhile, not mowed to the ground like a putting green.
The other area that really needs to be talked about is that WAY too much land that is already owned by the public is off limits to hunting and these need to be opened up. Using “safety concerns” as a universal excuse for the default banning of hunting on public land needs to end.
Grouse
MN public land hunting is underrated. Most private land CRP doesn’t contain the diverse cover. After the first snow birds will move to winter cover. This should make late season hunts great!
The ditches are disappearing as the crops move closer to the road every year.
I hope the governor is willing to slow the practice of cut every tree, drain tile and burn the slews and drain them. Until then, the Mn pheasants will continue to have a meager existence.
I hope the governor is willing to slow the practice of cut every tree, drain tile and burn the slews and drain them. Until then, the Mn pheasants will continue to have a meager existence.
X1000
I hope the governor is willing to slow the practice of cut every tree, drain tile and burn the slews and drain them. Until then, the Mn pheasants will continue to have a meager existence.
…and as soon as he does tell farmers what they can and cannot do on their land people will b*tch that government can’t tell me what to do! Look at all the screaming people did when he wanted to make a buffer on waterways…
I find it hard to believe we will ever have pheasant hunting like it has been anywhere in the US with shrinking subsidy lands (CRP). Pheasant habitat is man-made and requires money to make.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>kooty wrote:</div>
I hope the governor is willing to slow the practice of cut every tree, drain tile and burn the slews and drain them. Until then, the Mn pheasants will continue to have a meager existence.…and as soon as he does tell farmers what they can and cannot do on their land people will b*tch that government can’t tell me what to do! Look at all the screaming people did when he wanted to make a buffer on waterways…
Unfortunately the farmers in western Mn have shown little care about what they are doing to the water quality so maybe it’s time they are forced to leave some wetlands alone… I agree it sucks the government needs to step in. The side benefit of cover for critters is a huge plus in my mind but water quality is my biggest concern. One only has to look as far as the Minnesota river to see nasty impact all the draining and tiling is having.
The amount of CRP is dwindling every year. I see ground broke in SD that hasn’t ever been broken. All that grassland loss is going to ruin our water quality and ultimately the game and song birds that thrive in that environment. Hopefully my pessimistic view is wrong but I drive through western Mn often enough to see game animals can’t existing in plowed fields. As soon as I hit the border region, I start seeing wetlands and wildlife galore. Sadly, the farmers in northeastern SD have now started the drain tile practices.
Rant over….
I find it hard to believe we will ever have pheasant hunting like it has been anywhere in the US with shrinking subsidy lands (CRP). Pheasant habitat is man-made and requires money to make.
Can’t argue with you on that Kooty. Heck even SD’s CRP (grasslands…) are shrinking and with it bird #’s. The only reason counts are up this year is due to an easy winter…RR
I think there has to be at least some mandate in order to make significant progress. To me, the buffer strips issue is terrific idea because this should be a “both win” proposal. Farmers need to get on board with the fact that there’s no gain in flushing your soil and fertilizer down to the Gulf of Mexico. And when they do, it impacts them and everyone else.
Economics are going to take care of some of this as well. I have seen a couple of instances and hopefully I’ll see more this fall, where CRP that plowed up during the boom-boom corn price years is going BACK into CRP. Some farmers have short memories as to just WHY it made sense to put that ground into CRP in the first place. High corn prices tend to make people forget that input prices are high as well, so you can’t afford to just throw seed on the ground and see what happens.
One 160 acre area near Canby MN is a classic example. It’s been CRP as long as I can remember, but 7 years ago it got plowed up when corn was going crazy. Well, it’s a south-facing slope, with light, sandy soil. Didn’t take the guy long to realize that even at $7 corn, he was losing his @ss on this decision because outside of a year with a perfect rain pattern, he wasn’t going to get 50-60 an acre on that 160 in an average year and less in a dry year. It’s now back in CRP.
Grouse
There is big changes that the ag industry is going to have to address. The first is top soil I grew up in Kossuth county IA, when the plow broke the prairie there was 6ft of top soil. Now there is less then 28 inches and this was 2001.
People/ corporations are turning away from GMO/ chemicals. Could you imagine a corn field with weeds in it.
Free range grass feed animals.( not what I want to eat but to each there own.).
These issue are just a few I could name. All will affect pheasant numbers in a positive way but will raise the food price.
I’d think that the lawmakers could get farmers to jump on the buffer bandwagon pretty fast with having it include ALL waterways. This includes any street frontage that has storm sewer, any ponds, lakeshore, almost every residence in the nanny state would be effected.
Dam this thread turned into a hate thread against farmers
Not everyone is perfect, but I am sure happy that I get along with a few farmers or I would not be shooting as much as I do.
Not only that I appreciate the fact I can go the the grocery store and pickup fairly fresh foods of all kinds.
Imagine going to the store and having to choose through a bunch of food imported from China.
JH
I don’t think its a hate thing toward farmers, they have to do what they do to turn a profit. Problem is now that they have essentially plowed every possible square inch and planted corn and soybeans (because the commodities prices were so high) the supply has skyrocketed and the price plummeted.
NOW is the time to get a farm bill in place with some real dollars and incentive for farmers to set acreage aside.
Everything that is laid out in that plan would work, the problem is getting adoption.
Few farmers are going to let land sit idle out of the kindness of their heart.
The one thing I was happy to see is they have finally realized that they need to IMPROVE the habitat on some of the thousands of acres of public land already.
There are some areas that I have hunted that are in the middle of pheasant country and they are not diverse. Crummy grasses with no difference in cover, etc. There is often little protection for winter so what is produced in the Spring, likely doesn’t make it through the winter.
Improving our existing lands will likely be far less expensive than acquiring new, but I agree we need to do both.
Dam this thread turned into a hate thread against farmers
Not everyone is perfect, but I am sure happy that I get along with a few farmers or I would not be shooting as much as I do.
Not only that I appreciate the fact I can go the the grocery store and pickup fairly fresh foods of all kinds.
Imagine going to t he store and having to choose through a bunch of food imported from China.
JH
Most organic food is from China. I think what everyone could agree on is farm the best conserver the rest. If you every get a chance look at a map before the drainage ditches were dug. SW MN looked like a flat version of Stutsman county nd.
If you took my comments as hating on my family and friends, then you’ve missed the point completely. Food won’t be important if we don’t have clean water in the future.
Dam this thread turned into a hate thread against farmers
Not everyone is perfect, but I am sure happy that I get along with a few farmers or I would not be shooting as much as I do.
That’s not true at all. I have both relatives and friends who farm.
I understand that nobody wants change, but then again nobody, farmer or otherwise, wants to lose their topsoil and have unsafe and unusable water because of nitrate pollution.
There are a both-win areas of common interest here. Yes, it will require public dollars and yes it will require things of farmers as well. Change is hard, but the problem we’re facing is such that NOT changing is going to put everyone in a place where lots of really, really difficult mandates will be required if we don’t act now.
We have a very real problem in MN with soil loss and nitrate pollution. It’s not going to go away on its own. Pheasants and ducks are going to be the ancillary benefits, but really this is much bigger than just having birds to hunt.
Grouse
There is big changes that the ag industry is going to have to address. The first is top soil I grew up in Kossuth county IA, when the plow broke the prairie there was 6ft of top soil. Now there is less then 28 inches and this was 2001.
People/ corporations are turning away from GMO/ chemicals. Could you imagine a corn field with weeds in it.
Free range grass feed animals.( not what I want to eat but to each there own.).
These issue are just a few I could name. All will affect pheasant numbers in a positive way but will raise the food price.
Huh? 
Joel, soil depth plus quality=yield. Yield= land price. Most farms are only rich on paper if there is a land bubble. Banks will not loan them the money. The farmer’s I know back home have started planting cover crops. Many farms will have to plant something other than corn and beans in years to come.
Our society is leaning lefter and letter. Big food corps are being ask to have GMO/ hormone free products. These products are selling! (I buy them to avoid arguments with the wife.)
If farming gets smaller again not 2000-5000 acre. Pheasant will rebound and this is what I see coming down the road. Not that days my dad spoke of but 90’s level.
Wait a minute! Ditch parrots are an invasive species. Why in the world are we saving these animals that have pushed out the native grouse and chickens?
Did the pheasant really push the prairie chicken and grouse out or did the progression of farming and urban sprawl do this? Serious question not a dig at your post but an interest at the point of view I think you hit on something there.
Pheasants will parisiticly lay in prairie chickens nest. Hens typically leave the nest within 24 hours after the first chick hatches to start brooding. Pheasants incubation period is days shorter than prairie chickens. So the hens raise the pheasant chicks and leave the prairie chicken eggs behind. Many clutches will be lost each spring because of this.
I’m all for 50′ of tall preferably prairie grass protecting the waters of the state. In my opinion it’s an all or nothing deal though. Pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, and fertilizers are pumped on by the hundreds of gallons and washed directly into our watersheds. Some of these contributors are washing them in daily with high use of irrigation devices. Granted they aren’t greedy farmers they are lake homes and cabins. Like I say 100% or nothing.
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