Lots of hunters

Goosemaster said:
To be brutally honest, these video guys, and the internet, are what's putting a lot of out-of-state hunters into different states.
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I don't watch a ton of videos. Are there a lot of people showing Montana pheasant hunting? The ones I have seen are mainly SD.
 
I would be nervous hunting pheasants in the part of Montana near the mountains. I read in a book where the guys dog ran into a thick cattail bottom and a grizzly bear ran out the other side. Might have been John Barsness(sp).
 
Haretrigger said:
And here I thought building houses was an honorable profession.....
most houses also need a road in order to arrive at front door....
Goose...what am I missing ? Would you be so kind to put it in plain engish....your speaking in tongues has me all tied up..
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What do you guys do, is they fancy 50 acres, then they will build a road around it for side-by-side ATVs. Then these guys will come out, and pay big money to hunt this place, and stay in these little houses. It's a big operation and I'm I'm against this type of thing, I'm against pay hunting in general.
 
Chatting with a couple farmers in SD a week ago, they mentioned corn was guaranteed at a bit over $3/bushel in 1979; not too far from that price now, 46 years later. I suspect input costs are up 5x, 8x, or higher. Land is at least 20x higher, probably more. I don’t care how or why ground is in habitat, I’m just glad it isn’t being farmed fence to fence (actually they’re ripping fences out, along with tree belts, sloughs, etc), or being developed, etc. If someone chooses to leave it in habitat, or create new habitat, thank god. Hosting pay hunters? Great! That habitat is a good thing. Oh, one of those farmers I was chatting with is 64, not sure what his health insurance costs him this year, but last year it was $3,000/month…him and his wife. Not counting all the ancillary costs for meds, Dr appts, etc. That’s just one expense, not even farming related. If they’re lucky, really lucky, they’ll have 180 bushel corn…they might gross $600/acre….rent is $180-$225 (many pay more)…seed is $100…fertilizer? Pesticides? Fuel? Cost of combines? Planters? Sprayers? Semi’s? Grain bins? Tractors? They’re losing $, same on beans. Just reality, at the moment. Cattle are profitable, at least pasture has some positive benefits. Habitat is good, regardless…IMO.
 
benelli-banger said:
Chatting with a couple farmers in SD a week ago, they mentioned corn was guaranteed at a bit over $3/bushel in 1979; not too far from that price now, 46 years later. I suspect input costs are up 5x, 8x, or higher. Land is at least 20x higher, probably more. I don’t care how or why ground is in habitat, I’m just glad it isn’t being farmed fence to fence (actually they’re ripping fences out, along with tree belts, sloughs, etc), or being developed, etc. If someone chooses to leave it in habitat, or create new habitat, thank god. Hosting pay hunters? Great! That habitat is a good thing. Oh, one of those farmers I was chatting with is 64, not sure what his health insurance costs him this year, but last year it was $3,000/month…him and his wife. Not counting all the ancillary costs for meds, Dr appts, etc. That’s just one expense, not even farming related. If they’re lucky, really lucky, they’ll have 180 bushel corn…they might gross $600/acre….rent is $180-$225 (many pay more)…seed is $100…fertilizer? Pesticides? Fuel? Cost of combines? Planters? Sprayers? Semi’s? Grain bins? Tractors? They’re losing $, same on beans. Just reality, at the moment. Cattle are profitable, at least pasture has some positive benefits. Habitat is good, regardless…IMO.
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The pasture is a good point, even when grazed to oblivion it's more habitat than a plowed or sprayed field. In our area of Kansas and I suspect Midwest wide you might start seeing some of this marginal crop ground going back to pasture with the record cattle market and no softening in sight. When 1 fat steer is worth an entire semi full of corn, guys are going to start pulling the rolls of barb wire out of the sheds I think.
 
Goosemaster said:
I can't figure out why montana has so many bird hunters the last 3 years.Any comments?
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Montana is not South Dakota, there are large sections of Montana where you will not see a pheasant or a sharp tail. Those guys from Iowa that I met in that real remote spot, had to have been using the internet to find that place. I put those two guys onto a good spot that was actually block management, but in a very remote area. Those guys went in there and really messed things up, and left a lot of birds. Maybe I shouldn't have told those guys about that spot, they were deer hunters actually.
 
There’s a romance to MT…and, BMA, one license for the entire season, lots of anecdotes of high bird #’s, etc…definitely go to MT!!!!
 
Luckily, I still have some private ranches that I can hunt. Really good guys that don't charge money, I usually leave them a ham or a 12 pack of Old Milwaukee. Sometimes I don't leave them anything.
 
Bob Peters said:
Somebody catches a 10 pound bass, posts a picture, and the lake gets pounded. I wonder how many guys headed out to Pierre after that guy just caught the state record 17 pound walleye. It's not exclusive to montana. It's anywhere in the US where there's a hunting or fishing hot spot. The internet has made the country a lot smaller.
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Montana is not as good as South Dakota, and I will tell people that everyday. Yesterday I saw one of those yahoos pulling a huge trailer with horses and dogs. Thumbs down on those guys big time!!
 
benelli-banger said:
Chatting with a couple farmers in SD a week ago, they mentioned corn was guaranteed at a bit over $3/bushel in 1979; not too far from that price now, 46 years later. I suspect input costs are up 5x, 8x, or higher. Land is at least 20x higher, probably more. I don’t care how or why ground is in habitat, I’m just glad it isn’t being farmed fence to fence (actually they’re ripping fences out, along with tree belts, sloughs, etc), or being developed, etc. If someone chooses to leave it in habitat, or create new habitat, thank god. Hosting pay hunters? Great! That habitat is a good thing. Oh, one of those farmers I was chatting with is 64, not sure what his health insurance costs him this year, but last year it was $3,000/month…him and his wife. Not counting all the ancillary costs for meds, Dr appts, etc. That’s just one expense, not even farming related. If they’re lucky, really lucky, they’ll have 180 bushel corn…they might gross $600/acre….rent is $180-$225 (many pay more)…seed is $100…fertilizer? Pesticides? Fuel? Cost of combines? Planters? Sprayers? Semi’s? Grain bins? Tractors? They’re losing $, same on beans. Just reality, at the moment. Cattle are profitable, at least pasture has some positive benefits. Habitat is good, regardless…IMO.
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I dont know much about this equation but - what is the corn yield per acre now compared to 1979?
 
UplandHntr said:
I dont know much about this equation but - what is the corn yield per acre now compared to 1979?
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Good point, much higher. I read an article the other day that corn acreage is likely gonna lose $125-200/acre this year, even with high yields, likely 175-200 in SD…that’s a tough pill…1000 acres =a loss of $125,000-$200,000…my main farmer friend farms 2x that much corn…an ag banker stopped in my other farmer friend’s business, he’s a seed dealer as well as a farmer, machinery horse trader, etc, and she did say she’s not expecting farm bankruptcies in the near future, but equipment being sold off…I think farm equipment prices have softened a good deal…the Dow was around 1000 in ‘79….45,000 today…higher yields are better than flat yields, but the economics right now are tough…inputs haven’t fallen…
 
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benelli-banger said:
Good point, much higher. I read an article the other day that corn acreage is likely gonna lose $125-200/acre this year, even with high yields, likely 175-200 in SD…that’s a tough pill…1000 acres =a loss of $125,000-$200,000…my main farmer friend farms 2x that much corn…an ag banker stopped in my other farmer friend’s business, he’s a seed dealer as well as a farmer, machinery horse trader, etc, and she did say she’s not expecting farm bankruptcies in the near future, but equipment being sold off…I think farm equipment prices have softened a good deal…the Dow was around 1000 in ‘79….45,000 today…higher yields are better than flat yields, but the economics right now are tough…inputs haven’t fallen…
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They're going broke, and unless they have cattle there isn't any relief in sight. This grain deal is real trouble. It sounds mean but we've done too good of a job teaching these third world countries how to farm. They don't need us anymore. When Brazilian farmers can now yield with us and they can grow three crops in a year we aren't the swinging dick anymore. Our trade leverage sucks when there are other options to buy grain . These farmers are at a point now that they'd be better off to take their operating costs and just invest it. It's a heritage and love of the land that keeps these guys fighting the fight.
 
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