Is a hay field good for pheasants?

B

Bob Peters

Well-known member
I realize that a hen can try to nest there, and there's probably a lot of bugs around some of them. But I also have to wonder how many birds and nests get ran over when they cut hay. I've talked to some farmers and seen others out in the hay fields cutting recently. It seems like they're going to town right during a peak nesting time. Please excuse my ignorance on this subject, that's why I came here to ask.
 
I wondered that very same thing as I was driving my parents side by side in their freshly cut hay field in central Iowa. They said they also found a dead fawn. As I drove down I-80 I noticed a lot of mowed waterways in fields too.
 
Some areas delay cutting ditches and right of ways until August for this specific reason.

As far as a private hayfield, the owner or person hired to cut it can do that whenever they want. They usually don't give a rip about anything other than getting the job done. Most landowners don't care about "peak nesting season."
 
Bob Peters said:
I realize that a hen can try to nest there, and there's probably a lot of bugs around some of them. But I also have to wonder how many birds and nests get ran over when they cut hay. I've talked to some farmers and seen others out in the hay fields cutting recently. It seems like they're going to town right during a peak nesting time. Please excuse my ignorance on this subject, that's why I came here to ask.
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I think in pheasant country, it should be required to post that type of field. "Absolutely No Pheasant Nesting In This Field!! 😡" There's gotta be a government program that'd help recoup costs.
 
Grassland easements do delay haying on private land until after 7/15 or 8/1 depending on the easement. So its not all private hay ground but alot gets its first cutting around 6/1 of every year.
 
birddude said:
Mowing hay has killed more quail and rabbits here than all the predators put together. It's a shame but an uncontrollable fact and yes, I understand.
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Man is the worse predator of all and will ruin most anything with the help of our gov't. We are watching a great documentary on Prime Video called Ken Burns: The Dust Bowl. It is amazing how farmers with the encouragement from our Gov't, created one of the greatest natural disasters ever in the U.S. Farmers have ripped this land to shreds. Harvest is well underway here in western Kansas. They cut the wheat on Sunday and bale the stubble on Monday. No wheat stubble left at all to provide habitat to wintering pheasants.
 
Most hayfields are probably as good or better nesting than the majority of CRP acres. Trouble is most nests don't ever get a chance to hatch due to haying. Here in NE Iowa heavy rain kept farmers off the hayfields until recently, probably a week or two later than normal for the first cutting. I'm hoping maybe a few nests had a chance to hatch..
 
westksbowhunter said:
Man is the worse predator of all and will ruin most anything with the help of our gov't. We are watching a great documentary on Prime Video called Ken Burns: The Dust Bowl. It is amazing how farmers with the encouragement from our Gov't, created one of the greatest natural disasters ever in the U.S. Farmers have ripped this land to shreds. Harvest is well underway here in western Kansas. They cut the wheat on Sunday and bale the stubble on Monday. No wheat stubble left at all to provide habitat to wintering pheasants.
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I saw that! Everyone should watch it. I was flabbergasted that one man, with the help of the government could cause such devastation.
 
I would argue that they are at least somewhat connected to each other. I'll just leave it at that for the sake of not turning a thread into a political or climate controversy.
 
I started this thread because I was talking to a relative who farms in SW Wisconsin. He had been cutting hay. I asked how many times it gets cut a year and it sounds like 2 or 3 times, depending on rain and weather. Then I saw a guy in southern MN cutting a road ditch and bailing it up. I thought, "man, if there were any hens laying on a nest in there, that's a bad deal." Doesn't matter if it's a turkey hen, pheasant hen, or songbird. I realize owning livestock is a lot of work and planning. I just hope for a balance between being a good steward of the land and keeping the farm financially sound.
 
Bob Peters said:
I started this thread because I was talking to a relative who farms in SW Wisconsin. He had been cutting hay. I asked how many times it gets cut a year and it sounds like 2 or 3 times, depending on rain and weather. Then I saw a guy in southern MN cutting a road ditch and bailing it up. I thought, "man, if there were any hens laying on a nest in there, that's a bad deal." Doesn't matter if it's a turkey hen, pheasant hen, or songbird. I realize owning livestock is a lot of work and planning. I just hope for a balance between being a good steward of the land and keeping the farm financially sound.
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Very little, if anything, is being done by our gov't to enhance wildlife. Simple things like not mowing public utilities could be beneficial and would not cost anything. Kansas shells out millions to the WIHA program when it could be paying farmers to leave a little habitat. If they only gave back 1% of their land for habitat and were paid by the gov't just like CRP, you would see upland birds flourish. That would provide 6 acres of habitat per section. It could be in the form of pollinator strips, a shelter belt, or a small plot of CRP. But the WIHA program is a huge waste of money. Wheat stubble is a thing of the past. It used to be my favorite habitat to hunt back in the day long before CRP came along. Now wheat is cut and baled within 24hours. Reducing the benefit substantially of haying and emergency grazing. Or giving a little extra incentive for leaving CRP idle during drought conditions. Shelter belts have all but disappeared in Kansas and old homesteads cleared away. Unless changes come, they really is no way for birds to ever bounce back here.
 
Don't get me wrong, I have some very good friends who farm. But I think they have been fighting mother nature for so long they are calloused to the consequences. At the risk of getting political, ever notice how all the protests and media hype about climate change never mention farming? Hmmmm.
 
westksbowhunter said:
Very little, if anything, is being done by our gov't to enhance wildlife.
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I've mentioned this before, but pheasants are not a priority except for maybe in South Dakota. Every other state prioritizes deer populations, habitat, and deer hunting over everything else. Why? Because it has the most participants and generates the most revenue.

I would also like to point out with the political will power, you can make a significant difference. Here in MN, the mandated buffer strips along waterways like rivers, streams, creeks, and ditches has made a remarkable difference. It was mandated by a Democratic governor about 10 years ago and it was required in stages over the years until it became a full state law. There was a lot of push back from the agriculture industry. Big Ag hates it initially because it takes land out of production. But it has added a lot of miles of habitat for various types of wildlife, pollinators, and greatly increased water quality as a result.

Just think of what would happen to bird numbers if other states implemented this. Bird numbers in a state like Iowa would explode solely based on the addition of habitat. But it requires state legislation, phased implementation, and enforcement though.
 
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No mowing (well in normal/wet summers) is the advantage that CRP cover has over traditional hay grass and alfalfa fields.

Nothing to do with nesting, but Sharptails love cut hay and alfalfa fields for the greens and the grasshoppers ... but that is usually later in August after the field is cut and regrowth starting up.
 
Well, it has been a long time since I posted here. All farmers are not alike. There are stewards and there are businessmen and everything in between. Regenerative ag would go a long way to solve climate change and conservation issues. It is coming but slowly. I choose to be a steward, but I have to be able to keep the business side of things working. If I don't, I won't be able to keep doing what I am doing. I have been called a lowlife because I have a hunting business. That business lets there be more habitat. Farmers get to do what they want with their investment The Audubon society just did a bird count here. The one who did the counting said I had the most birds of all the places he did bird counts. That feels good but it doesn't put any money in my pocket.
 
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