Recounted from a local farmers meeting, with a PF rep in attendence. Farmers voicing the opinion that the pesticide coating on seeds along with the talc used by air seeders are one cause of pheasant declines. According to the farmers, pesticide used to be Capstan? which was OK, now two different chemicals which are bound to the talc, and ingested by young birds proving to be toxic. There was no corroberating scientific evidence presented, but such is the talk. The good news is that there is genuine concern for the birds, and it's becoming a front page issue, which can only help if we can find the answers.
Growing rural legend for pheasant declines
- Thread starter oldandnew
- Start date
pheasantaddict
New member
At least we're looking for answers.
Or willingness to question the status quo and keep an open mind. If only we knew what the effects of smoking were in the fifties! Oh, I forgot, we did and just supressed it for another 25 years with spin doctored advertisements of the Marlboro Man and healthy looking super models sucking cancer sticks. Roundup is really beneficial too, Pinto gas tanks were safe, Ford told us so, after all, and clean water is over-rated. clean water and clean air standards are a terrible burden on business, let the government clean it up. corn is 7.00 book those profits and let the next generation try to fix the burned out planet. By the time we conclusively identify the problem we will all be dead anyway, maybe ironically from our own stupidity. It's funny that when a scientist/salesman who works for Monsanto or some other chemical peddler tells us everything is safe, it's gospel, oh well there was that little hitch with the dairy lactation drug, they lied about that, but the independent scientist/researcher now there is a wild-eyed, left leaning, agenda driven, no good, trouble maker we should ignore as conjecture, self serving, and in need of another 25 years of research, while the profits go on and causulties pile up.
Around here the pheasants eat the corn out of the ground as it is germinating. So I think every body has started using Avipel to keep that to a minimum. Two or three years ago we ran out of the seed treated with it and finished a field without it. They cleaned it out. You could see it clearly on the satelilte photo. I believe it is a deterent and does not harm them, any way I have had alot of pheasants after I started using it. So my point is if people are using Avipel the pheasants won't be eating much seed. As far as young pheasants eating it, there should be a couple of months between planting and when young pheasnts would likely start using a corn field. Any thing is possible but it would seem like that would be fairly weathered, degraded, or diluted by then.
Thanks for the insight, I'll pass that along. It's always easier to blame the boogeyman we don't understand than really determine the cause. May be some truth in this, like most legends, but hardly a smoking gun at this point. I'm beginning to believe the cause of decline is death by a thousand cuts, lose one here to this one there to something else. If we whittle down the population like it is almost everywhere but central South Dakota, we get to a point where everyone counts, whereas in years past it wasn't so obvious.
UGUIDE
Active member
Chemicals should always be a concern. As should good factual evidence. It is good an overall concern for bird numbers and wildlife is on the increase.
Whenever you have a Big Ag company with motives to return value to the shareholder it may be at the expenses of the consumer. Sometimes the level of ignorance and the lack of evidence go hand in hand.
I decided my own position would be one of ignorance simply for lack of enough resources and scientific study to produce the facts beyond hunches and suspicions.
Therefore, I decided committing 200 of my remaining 300 cropped acres be offered into the general CRP signup in March 2012.
I knew for CERTAIN that this would be a plausible remedy to the biggest factor and fact of all: loss of acres of winter wheat, native prairie and CRP acres across the region offset by and increase in soybeans and corn.
I think we can all agree this is the leading demise of pheasant numbers and we have enough evidence of this from states that used to have higher pheasant numbers.
With South Dakota having such a strong dependence, commercially, on this game species there will be a larger concern about its future (hopefully).
Whenever you have a Big Ag company with motives to return value to the shareholder it may be at the expenses of the consumer. Sometimes the level of ignorance and the lack of evidence go hand in hand.
I decided my own position would be one of ignorance simply for lack of enough resources and scientific study to produce the facts beyond hunches and suspicions.
Therefore, I decided committing 200 of my remaining 300 cropped acres be offered into the general CRP signup in March 2012.
I knew for CERTAIN that this would be a plausible remedy to the biggest factor and fact of all: loss of acres of winter wheat, native prairie and CRP acres across the region offset by and increase in soybeans and corn.
I think we can all agree this is the leading demise of pheasant numbers and we have enough evidence of this from states that used to have higher pheasant numbers.
With South Dakota having such a strong dependence, commercially, on this game species there will be a larger concern about its future (hopefully).
Uncle Buck
New member
Monsanto is on here elsewhwere, but I spoke to my farm co-op guy last night re the drought resistant corn breeds they are working on an it is a bit scary. It is thought they can grow corn without water and they will go after the wheat ground out west. Co-op guy says he knows two brothers who have already went west for new ground, Faith area, because land is too high in the east. They are going to try and grow corn out there.
1pheas4
Moderator
Man, with everyone going for corn and beans I'm wounding if we will bump into a small grains shortage in the coming years? I suppose that would bump those prices way up so people will start growing small grains again?
More inflation on the way?
UGUIDE
Active member
That is scary UB because when you do the analysis on the crop makeup of land West River a very very small % is corn or soybeans. I believe that is a significant reason as to why they have such strong seasonal high numbers on pheasant unlike the growing soybean and corn acres east river and the decline of winter wheat acres.
shorthairs4life
New member
Chemicals and pheasant declines
Recently I went out to Quarry Ridge and there was a guy in the clubhouse that was talking about this same concept. He has a portion of his farm where he uses chemicals and portion he does not. In the portion he doesn't he says there are 3 times the wildlife spotted (he does not hunt this was just his observation. He swears the difference is the chemicals)
Recently I went out to Quarry Ridge and there was a guy in the clubhouse that was talking about this same concept. He has a portion of his farm where he uses chemicals and portion he does not. In the portion he doesn't he says there are 3 times the wildlife spotted (he does not hunt this was just his observation. He swears the difference is the chemicals)