Pheasant Nesting in Winter Wheat

UGUIDE said:
I agree with your logic MNMT. there are just a ton of variables when these little buggers nest. For example like the one where if there was a lot of little chicks making noise around nesting hens they equated that with the hens leaving the nests as a population control factor when pheasant numbers were really high. Go figure!
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The peeping chick thing around nesting hens, one of those cases where some student or some dumb #&*@ is guessing. What a screw up of nature if this where true.:rolleyes:

For instance a nest will take about 24 hours once the eggs start hatching. Never all at once. Then there is a another few hours of chicks drying, gaining strength then the hen slowly moves off the nest calling the young chicks constantly. NO! she doesn't leave the nest as she hears the first peep from her chick or a passing brood. :mad:

Always so much crap one has to sort out on these studies.:)

I would have no problem leaving standing grain straw in a field. Actually I would leave some standing with the grain on.:thumbsup:
 
mnmthunting said:
The peeping chick thing around nesting hens, one of those cases where some student or some dumb #&*@ is guessing. What a screw up of nature if this where true.:rolleyes:

For instance a nest will take about 24 hours once the eggs start hatching. Never all at once. Then there is a another few hours of chicks drying, gaining strength then the hen slowly moves off the nest calling the young chicks constantly. NO! she doesn't leave the nest as she hears the first peep from her chick or a passing brood. :mad:

Always so much crap one has to sort out on these studies.:)

I would have no problem leaving standing grain straw in a field. Actually I would leave some standing with the grain on.:thumbsup:
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Best honey hole I ever had was a 40@ field of lightly toasted oat stubble, complete with yearling angus steers. About calf high, blackened,and lousy with bobwhites and pheasants. Darn near couldn't run them out of it. Had at least 3 huge coveys and a couple of roosters every day, lost track of hens, surrounded by tumble weeds and a strip of prairie grass. I think every bird in the county found it's way to that field.
 
oldandnew said:
Even if I concede the fertilizer value as accurate, and there is plenty of studies which claim higher value, pasture grass fertilizer here can be as high as 45.00 per acre if you hire it done by the elevator. I dispute your lump sum figures for labor, fuel, netwrap, cost of equipment, as optimistic. Value of that straw crop, or even hay is highly variable, right up to including years where it's carried over, and isn't sold at all.
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I am just using the nutrient value that extensions services put on wheat straw. You have to use something as a basis for decision making. My cost to bale is the average custom rate in IA to windrow and bale straw. If you have more accurate information it would be interesting to see. I am always curious to crunch the numbers on my own operation to see what pays and what does not.

Yes straw is high right now no doubt about it. Some years will be lower and it does not pay to bale it and not use it. But for this year if you have a market for straw and you leave straw in the field. It is costing you 10-15 bucks an acer. Next year it might be better to leave the stubble depending on fuel fertilizer and straw costs.
 
moellermd said:
I am just using the nutrient value that extensions services put on wheat straw. You have to use something as a basis for decision making. My cost to bale is the average custom rate in IA to windrow and bale straw. If you have more accurate information it would be interesting to see. I am always curious to crunch the numbers on my own operation to see what pays and what does not.

Yes straw is high right now no doubt about it. Some years will be lower and it does not pay to bale it and not use it. But for this year if you have a market for straw and you leave straw in the field. It is costing you 10-15 bucks an acer. Next year it might be better to leave the stubble depending on fuel fertilizer and straw costs.
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I don't disagree this year, or any year you can use it yourself or have a well defined sale market. Must be able to change plans in a second to succeed in agriculture.
 
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