Pictures Don't Lie: Corn And Soybeans Are Conquering U.S. Grasslands

Well I'll let the new agriculture posters respond to that. First response is to cut federal funding for NPR!
 
Hmmm....wondering what DU is doing. this looks like a duck disaster in the making. Major area is the prairie coteau in SD and ND.

This confirmed my suspicion these grasslands were not just natives but expiring CRP as well.

The high crop prices just solidifies the contract taxpayers have with landowners that this was a 10-15 year deal and land would be returned to production.

Is it really that surprising?

However, the system is ripe for reform. Crop insurance and CRP. both could be much more efficient at targeting major resources concerns.
 
UGUIDE said:
Hmmm....wondering what DU is doing. this looks like a duck disaster in the making. Major area is the prairie coteau in SD and ND.
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Couldn't agree more...but there are those that don't give a rip. I have really washed my hands of it. Time to find other past times.
 
UGUIDE said:
But you're the proud owner of a new grain drill!?
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Oats = Geese in the north country. It really has more to do with keeping up the hay field. a person has to replant or the willow will completely take over. I have let some of the field go back to it's natural state already. Didn't even cut some of the hay fields this year. Just left them stand. The deer have just flocked in.
 
Sounds like people should take out a second mortgage on their homes and go buy some native prairie to prevent it from being farmed.
 
We have lost several very large CRP tracts west of the house to beans and corn. They have gone in a completely wiped out tree rows, hedge rows and all. Rebuilt terraces and cleaned everything up all in the name of ethanol.

My land is NOT getting hayed this year, most likely never again as long as I own it. It's going to the birds!!!! I've got a nice pond on it, and to the west is about 160 acres of cropland with a nice tree lined creek running through it (which isn't my land) but will feed the birds that I hope start using my native prairie grass.
 
moellermd said:
Sounds like people should take out a second mortgage on their homes and go buy some native prairie to prevent it from being farmed.
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I did that. What I want to know what do I tell the neighboring farmer who tiled and mowed his waterway on 2000@ when he asked me if he and his guests can hunt on my property, because he and the boy want shoot a deer, some quail, or squirrels, believe me they don't have any of those on their ground! That land did when I was a kid, before the "improvements", my creek was clear too! I am a good neighbor, so I let them, they probably laugh behind my back, because I am a Lousy farmer. a few more acres get plowed up, I might say rotate on it! Maybe it will be catching.
 
I'm very glad that the True Native Grasslands are on mostly public ground. Such as the BLM, School Trust Lands, National Grasslands, etc.
Most of these true NATIVE grasslands were past on by the homesteaders. Rough, Hilly, steep, Rocky,stuff impossible to plow.
If You Guys want to read history check out the RR history and the Homesteaders that followed the main lines then the spurs. Homesteaders had to "prove up" their claim. Virtually all 160's were taken up that had any chance of plowing. You realize that a mule and 1 bottom plow could get into nooks and cranny's that modern equipment can not get close to.
Anyway, :) don't fret much about the loss of NATIVE Prairie.

Not saying the loss of CRP, Pastures and Hay ground is good. ( I hate It) :(
But, facts are facts.
 
Most land dwelling creatures and the seven cradles of human civilization began around wetlands yet we trash or drain them as worthless problems...Greed and selfishness are stubborn and have a terribly selective sense of vision and memory.




*
 
huntsem said:
Most land dwelling creatures and the seven cradles of human civilization began around wetlands yet we trash or drain them as worthless problems...Greed and selfishness are stubborn and have a terribly selective sense of vision and memory.*
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Very well put Sir.:10sign:
 
1pheas4 said:
Watch this video Chris. Our friends to the north are in this mess too:(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTRD6VHNkoQ
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Excellent video. How anybody that has a once of common sense can't see the long term effects of their actions, is beyond me. They talk about doing whats needed to keep the farm going to pass onto their kids. There won't be anything. The plains are going to turn into a desert. Droughts are going to be more and more common. There are no water reserves. You also are causing change in weather patterns. There is no evaporation into the atmosphere to fuel the storms, that bring the rains. Along with a aquifer that is continuing to dry up. I'm glad this will never happen in our area of Minnesota but our South Dakota place will become worthless.
 
onpoint said:
Excellent video. How anybody that has a once of common sense can't see the long term effects of their actions, is beyond me. They talk about doing whats needed to keep the farm going to pass onto their kids. There won't be anything. The plains are going to turn into a desert. Droughts are going to be more and more common. There are no water reserves. You also are causing change in weather patterns. There is no evaporation into the atmosphere to fuel the storms, that bring the rains. Along with a aquifer that is continuing to dry up. I'm glad this will never happen in our area of Minnesota but our South Dakota place will become worthless.
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The good ole 80/20 probably applies here too. 80% think very short-term and the 20% are the long term thinkers.
 
UGUIDE said:
I don't hunt ducks and i don't live in Canada. I mean't what is DU doing in the US? One issue I have is a lot of DU member moneys goes to Canada. maybe for good reasons in their model.
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Yeah, sorry about that Chris. I kinda used your post to plug that video for other folks to see.:eek: I couldn't believe what I was watching. I re-posted it within my own thread:).

To be honest, I haven't heard of anything on what DU is doing to prevent habitat loss here in the U.S. I know they're doing something, just not sure what:confused:

It seems that Pheasants Forever is always the loudest, most active and aggressive, at-the-fore-front of these type issues doesn't it?
 
onpoint said:
Excellent video. How anybody that has a once of common sense can't see the long term effects of their actions, is beyond me. They talk about doing whats needed to keep the farm going to pass onto their kids. There won't be anything. The plains are going to turn into a desert. Droughts are going to be more and more common. There are no water reserves. You also are causing change in weather patterns. There is no evaporation into the atmosphere to fuel the storms, that bring the rains. Along with a aquifer that is continuing to dry up. I'm glad this will never happen in our area of Minnesota but our South Dakota place will become worthless.
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OP I suspect that I am the one that talked about doing what is needed to pass the farm on. You are right that there are some farming practices that are not sustainable. But it is not as bleak as you see it. On this place we have restored a dam that was originally built by the original homesteader and then up graded by my father. The plans are in the works to restore another dam that was built by my dad in the 30s, if I can put together enough MONEY to do that. When we get that done there is a beginning of a plan to build a third dam. These things take MONEY and time. There is no tiling going on here yet but there are a few gumbo holes that would be good to get rid of. We are starting to do things with cover crops that will reduce both fertilizer and chemicals. I am technology challenged so I can't provide a link but if you YOU TUBE "Paul Brown talks on why soil health is important to farming", you will get a sample of what is starting to happen in ag. Things change, we don't have buffalo roaming here any more. The teepe rings in my pasture aren't holding down teepes any more. Open range has been gone for a long time. We are not farming with a 3 bottom plow and in 25 years people will look back and shake their heads about the good old days that are now. I don't know what is going to happen and it won't be up to me because I am going to be gone and sombody else will decide it. But what we don't need is the government screwing it up like they have in the past. What was government good intentions made everybody summerfallow which led to terrible erosion. If DU and PF want to help let them provide incentives rather than legislation. Sorry I digress.
 
haymaker said:
OP I suspect that I am the one that talked about doing what is needed to pass the farm on. You are right that there are some farming practices that are not sustainable. But it is not as bleak as you see it. On this place we have restored a dam that was originally built by the original homesteader and then up graded by my father. The plans are in the works to restore another dam that was built by my dad in the 30s, if I can put together enough MONEY to do that. When we get that done there is a beginning of a plan to build a third dam. These things take MONEY and time. There is no tiling going on here yet but there are a few gumbo holes that would be good to get rid of. We are starting to do things with cover crops that will reduce both fertilizer and chemicals. I am technology challenged so I can't provide a link but if you YOU TUBE "Paul Brown talks on why soil health is important to farming", you will get a sample of what is starting to happen in ag. Things change, we don't have buffalo roaming here any more. The teepe rings in my pasture aren't holding down teepes any more. Open range has been gone for a long time. We are not farming with a 3 bottom plow and in 25 years people will look back and shake their heads about the good old days that are now. I don't know what is going to happen and it won't be up to me because I am going to be gone and sombody else will decide it. But what we don't need is the government screwing it up like they have in the past. What was government good intentions made everybody summerfallow which led to terrible erosion. If DU and PF want to help let them provide incentives rather than legislation. Sorry I digress.
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Digress some more Haymaker. Dang good post!:thumbsup:
 
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