Lets Talk Switch Grass

mnmthunting

mnmthunting

Banned
So as not to Hi jack UGUIDES thread. :eek:
I would be interested in everyone's take on it.
I have a 5 acre patch, so it's not like I hate the stuff.

Some of my thoughts, Why plant it? Switch Grass has NEVER been a part of US Pheasant production. Not been used in Soil Bank or CRP until very recently. Now FSA, USDA, State people are pushing the heck out of it. I've hunted a lot in Iowa, SD, ND, MN and MT and have not come across Wild growing Switch. Road ditches, and newer CRP plantings and here and their people have put in an acre or two.

I'm just wondering what you all figure is the advantage to Switch? As far as Pheasant production is concerned there are FAR better alternatives.
 
Finding native stands of switch probably would be hard to find. There are some around. Here would be my thoughts

-Switch, not pure stands, is native to the prarie so it grows well in its native environment.
-Stands up well to snow.
-Does not spread weed seeds all over the place.
 
I think the popularity of it results from it's promotion towards the whitetail deer hunting crowd.

I've seen it mentioned in studies that it's often chosen second to winter wheat for hen nesting attempts, but I don't recall specifics (months/states/other habitat present).

I have a stand I planted that's still coming in, so my personal planting verdict it out. I planted it over others since it's suppose to withstand winter weather better and gets tall, so hopefully deer will use it for bedding. I don't plan on letting it become a pure field of switch grass only through the use of disturbance once it becomes necessary.

I've hunted a variety of stands. I find more birds in switch mixed with forbs/other grasses than I do in the pure stands of only switch.

Overall I think it's alright. Whether it's the best choice for an area really depends on other factors local to the area.
 
It's excellent thermal cover for both pheasant and whitetails. If the critical habitat is winter cover then switch fills the bill for that one and is probably why it is pushed.

I think current designs would recommend at least a 5 species NWSG over a monoculture switch stand.
 
I think UGUIDE and 1G pretty much nailed it. Seems the big push is from the deer crowd for bedding/security and the winter/snow cover it provides. I've not planted any of it here but I've got some now due to just the natural process I guess of converting from fescue to NWSG. The people I talk to around here dont recommend it due to its habit of taking over a stand.
 
Yeah, good thoughts you guys.:thumbsup:
My 5 acre patch of Switch is 5 years, got thick and tall the last couple years. This past Winter we had plenty of snow but not large amounts at one time, and melting all Winter long. Stood up real well, but so did everything else including Brome. Winter before with normal snow amounts the Switch was as worthless as all grasses.
Northern pheasant country grass is simply not going to make Winter cover on a normal year. Pheasants, deer and native grouse will move to the cattails and woody stuff.
Grasslands are a must for nesting and brood rearing, so I have to wonder about Switch Grass. We know that pheasants do well in the cool season grasses, so why the big push on WSG?
 
Very good discussion.

Ever see the percent of North America that PF believes more winter cover is the most important thing to pheasant survival? It's a blip on the radar. Nesting habitat is what we need.

I have some monocultures of switch from back in the day when it was believed switch was the answer for pheasants. I have found that disking it every 3 years or so creates a nice mix of forbes and grass. The switch comes back surprisingly well after disking, but not so well that the weeds don't come too for a few years.

I will never plant a straight mix of switch again and wouldn't want anymore than 10-15% of my farm/hunting land into it.

Just my .02. But what do I know, I'm a grouse hunter by trade. :D
 
mnmthunting said:
We know that pheasants do well in the cool season grasses, so why the big push on WSG?
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MNMT, I know that SD game and Fish and even PF Biologists would list winter cover as the cover most lacking in SD in order to preserve pheasants thru cirtical times and weather during the winter months. Short of woody cover the WSG stands are the next best thing.

One differing viewpoint now that the landscape is changing is that you need nesting cover for production and THEN keep em alive with winter cover.

Possible for CP 25 to be a balance for the two?

Overseeding some alfalfa in the switch might now be a bad idea.
 
Chris, why would having alfalfa in any grassland be a bad idea?

ND and MT CRP was all planted with alfalfa in the mix. Heirloom varieties like NW, Vernal or Ranger. Tall, heavy stemmed alfalfa with great Winter standability year around canopy. Pheasant and native game birds thrive in the stuff.
The modern fine stem multi leaf varieties won't work as well.


As far as pheasants are concerned I would highly recommend Heirloom Alfalfa in the mix.
 
Had a place to hunt for 10 years, key word "had", that planted strips of cave in rock switchgrass with food plots adjacent surrounded by crp. Always did well, usaully kicked up 25 bird flush, all out of sg. Hunted another farm that had 40 acre block of cir switghgrass, had 3 guys start pushing from west while I was flanking along north and watched at least 50 birds flush out the northeast corner, not knowing what flushed out of view. I know stuff gets tall and very difficult to walk but I believe in the stuff, in moderation, based on my experience. Just got word my crp in Iowa is now planted and I have 46 acres in tall grass prairie, 6.5 acres pollinator habitat, seven 400' long switchgrass strips to provide winter cover with food plots adjacent. Let you know how this works.
 
birddog456 said:
Had a place to hunt for 10 years, key word "had", that planted strips of cave in rock switchgrass with food plots adjacent surrounded by crp. Always did well, usaully kicked up 25 bird flush, all out of sg. Hunted another farm that had 40 acre block of cir switghgrass, had 3 guys start pushing from west while I was flanking along north and watched at least 50 birds flush out the northeast corner, not knowing what flushed out of view. I know stuff gets tall and very difficult to walk but I believe in the stuff, in moderation, based on my experience. Just got word my crp in Iowa is now planted and I have 46 acres in tall grass prairie, 6.5 acres pollinator habitat, seven 400' long switchgrass strips to provide winter cover with food plots adjacent. Let you know how this works.
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Good luck with your project, sounds good. Keep us updated.:thumbsup:
 
I was reading this earlier and thought of this thread. I'm not saying this is right or wrong for all areas. Consider the source - this article is based out of Missouri (though I've seen similar mention other places, I just don't have the URLs at the moment).

Warm-season grasses should receive top priority when establishing permanent nesting cover. Recent studies in southern Iowa revealed that pheasant nesting densities in switch grass and mixed native grass exceeded densities in traditionally preferred alfalfa-orchard grass. Pheasant nesting success was greatest in switch grass. Switch grass is especially important as nesting cover since stems from the previous year remain erect throughout the winter and provide residual nesting cover the following spring.
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Source: http://mdc.mo.gov/landwater-care/animal-management/bird-management/pheasants/managing-pheasants
 
Where ever these studies are done, pheasants are going to nest in the best available cover, whether it be Winter Wheat, road ditches, etc. If the Switch is the best available that's where the nest will be.

Hens do like old growth grass, so burning grasslands is usually a bad plan as far as pheasant production is concerned.

The South Dakota pheasant management studies show that Alfalfa/grass is first choice for nesting but first in lost nests. Haying mainly. If not hayed such as CRP makes excellent pheasant cover.

Cool season grasses with old growth is preferred nesting over Warm Season grasses.

South Dakota seems to be successful with their pheasant production.:thumbsup:

Google up "South Dakota Pheasant Management Plan: Long read but good information.
 
Haven't been out to check on habitat project in Iowa yet. Report from neighbors say firebreaks greened up fast and have deer grazing the crap out of it.:mad: Sorgum food plots were planted last and are 2 feet tall. As far as the switchgrass and the 46 acres of tallgrass prairie mix, nothing visible. Know there hasen't been much moisture out there, so the jury is still out. Will be heading out in 2 weeks to get my own perspective.
 
Switchgrass is the key in the east

We are working to reintroduce wild pheasants in PA. PA had a large pheasant population in the 60s and early 70s but the population crashed to almost nothing over the last 40 years. PA is the highest CREP state. We thought that these CREP acres would be the key to getting pheasants growing in PA. After 10 years of CREP we have discovered that large fields of switchgrass are the missing ingredient. We planted the typical mix of big bluestem, indian grass and little bluestem with a couple of pounds of switch thrown in. The big bluestem mixture is falt like a parking lot before snow even arrives. Our pheasant numbers improved but were still too low to be considered a success. One farmer who wanted to use his own drill to plant his farm put 10 lbs/acre of cave-in-rock on a 45 acre field. We flushed this field last month and flushed 173 wild pheasants! This is a monoculture field. It is sprayed with herbicide every few years to keep broad leaf invasives out and keep the grass thick. This winter survival cover is what has been missing from the agricultural landscape. Pheasants also love it for nesting. It has minimal brood rearing value but the birds get that from the surrounding crop fields. We are increasing the amount of switchgrass acres as fast as we can. Everywhere we have large numbers of birds we have some switchgrass and the density of birds is correlated to the amount of switchgrass cover. We typically put a food plot next to these large fields so the birds can feed clsoe to cover. We love the results. Switchgrass may not be as effective in areas that already have good winter cover like cattail marshes etc. PA is lacking this required heavy cover for pheasant survival that the switchgrass provides.
 
In My opinion large expanses of switch grass are not good enough in the late winter. Also in regards to nesting cover I don't think it provides enough low growing varieties of forbes and may grow too dense for young pheasant chicks to easily get around in. I think it should be mixed with other forbes, grasses and fruit bearing bushes.


This is a photo of a fallow corn field 1 year out that is dominated by Heath Aster which is a woody stemmed plant common to the midwest. The plant grows in such a way that it has a dense over-story but an open under-story so a variety of small greens and animals exist well in it. This photo was taken the last week in January 2013 in N.W. Pa.. It still held birds right up to the last day of the late season. This area had snow in excess of 12" at times this year and the field held birds which vacated the older growth grass dominated field right next to it. (By older growth in that it hasn't been disturbed for at least 8 years.) The grass dominated field contained a fair amount of switch grass in places as well as other grasses and forbes but once the snows reach a certain depth in this area the grass dominated fields don't offer enough food and cover to protect the birds. The birds also fed Heavily on the Heath Aster seed puffs when the snow was deeper. They pretty much stayed in that heath Aster during that period.

I think one of the draw backs to killing every native plant in a field to plant switch grass is that it wipes out beneficial plants like Heath Aster.


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I know all the theory on diversity in planting and in the midwest it may be true. In the east with our fragmented landscape, it does not apply. You don't need to go far to find diversity in the next field. A stand of 5 ft high switch has proven to protect our birds against a high predator density. I only know what the birds are telling us. This is no longer theory here. We have fields of mono switch grass that are providing excellent winter cover and nesting cover. It is not good brood rearing cover but they are finding that need in other fields nearby.
 
huntsem said:
In My opinion large expanses of switch grass are not good enough in the late winter. Also in regards to nesting cover I don't think it provides enough low growing varieties of forbes and may grow too dense for young pheasant chicks to easily get around in. I think it should be mixed with other forbes, grasses and fruit bearing bushes.


This is a photo of a fallow corn field 1 year out that is dominated by Heath Aster which is a woody stemmed plant common to the midwest. The plant grows in such a way that it has a dense over-story but an open under-story so a variety of small greens and animals exist well in it. This photo was taken the last week in January 2013 in N.W. Pa.. It still held birds right up to the last day of the late season. This area had snow in excess of 12" at times this year and the field held birds which vacated the older growth grass dominated field right next to it. (By older growth in that it hasn't been disturbed for at least 8 years.) The grass dominated field contained a fair amount of switch grass in places as well as other grasses and forbes but once the snows reach a certain depth in this area the grass dominated fields don't offer enough food and cover to protect the birds. The birds also fed Heavily on the Heath Aster seed puffs when the snow was deeper. They pretty much stayed in that heath Aster during that period.

I think one of the draw backs to killing every native plant in a field to plant switch grass is that it wipes out beneficial plants like Heath Aster.


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I hear your opinion quite often regarding switchgrass and take it for exactly what it is. I am planting a diversified habitat with blocks of cave in rock to provide some winter cover. Based on my experiences over the years, seeing the birds I've seen, I believe in it! Until you convince the pheasants in my world they are not suppose to be there, no amount of preaching will save this lost soul.
 
That weedy field appears to be excellent winter bird cover.

A mixture of heirloom Alfalfa (Tall and stemmy) Sweet Clover and grass such as Bluebunch Wheatgrass, Side Oats Grama or Switch Grass. This makes excellent pheasant cover. Stands up so much better then stands of grasses only during heavy snow times. The alfalfa and Sweet Clover shades the ground to prevent sod. Is excellent tenting during ice and rain storms. Excellent insect production. Excellent protection from predators. Leaves and seed from the Alfalfa and sweet clover are protein rich and used by young pheasants.
Pheasant habitat like this will NOT require burning.

A mixture like this is what was used in all those millions of acres of Soil Bank and again during the CRP years. Worked very well for pheasant production.:thumbsup:

Planting and working on Switch Grass only in your pheasant habitat is a mistake.
 
mnmthunting, I appreciate your opinion but using midwest ideas in the east has cost us a lot of wasted time and money. We get so much more rain and snow compared to the midwest that what works out there and what works here different. Don't make the mistake that we are relying strictly on switchgrass. We are relying on it for winter cover and nesting which we have proven is a major key in pheasant numbers here. I have hunted in MT, SD, ND, Kansas and Iowa for pheasants and every state has different habitat and different predator issues. Nothing is the same in most of the states even in the midwest. Here in the east, switchgrass holds the key.
 
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