U.S. Fish and Wildlife burns

[birddude]

From what I see It's going to take an enormous amount of taxpayer money. And if it happens without government intervention, I fear we will all have bigger thing to worry about!

 

[Weimdogman]

If we take precision ag one step further and idle unproductive acres, there is where we could get some improvement for our birds. Turning those acres into continuous CRP would help.

I agree but here is what the farmer thinks-
I know it's not productive ground but it takes time money and equipment to do something different then plant it. Is it really worth it ?

If I put it into crp it will catch snow and then it's wet around it later in the spring so I can't plant it as early. So there again I have to ask is it worth it ?

Now many of us want to ask the farmer if what they are doing is really worth it ?
Raise so much that without price supports(welfare) they couldn't make a profit?

The federal ag program needs a major overhaul.

 

[Prairie Drifter]

I agree but here is what the farmer thinks-
I know it's not productive ground but it takes time money and equipment to do something different then plant it. Is it really worth it ?

If I put it into crp it will catch snow and then it's wet around it later in the spring so I can't plant it as early. So there again I have to ask is it worth it ?

Now many of us want to ask the farmer if what they are doing is really worth it ?
Raise so much that without price supports(welfare) they couldn't make a profit?

The federal ag program needs a major overhaul.

I read an article in Quail Unlimited's magazine once about a farmer who used the GPS function on his combine back when it was a new thing. He found out that the unproductive acres in this particular crop field caused the entire field to be unprofitable. By idling the unproductive acres he made the remaining acres profitable and received CRP payments for the acres that he idled. Nothing is all one way or all the other. However I do think that there are enough of those acres out there that idling them in some gamebird favorable cover would show a significant increase in bird numbers across their range.

 

[Weimdogman]

I read an article in Quail Unlimited's magazine once about a farmer who used the GPS function on his combine back when it was a new thing. He found out that the unproductive acres in this particular crop field caused the entire field to be unprofitable. By idling the unproductive acres he made the remaining acres profitable and received CRP payments for the acres that he idled. Nothing is all one way or all the other. However I do think that there are enough of those acres out there that idling them in some gamebird favorable cover would show a significant increase in bird numbers across their range.

Here is the really stupid thing about crp payments- crp pays more to take productive land out of production then say pasture ground.
Friend told me he tried to enroll some no longer needed pasture in crp. No crp money available for pasture ground. He plowed and planted those acres took a loss and collected on crop insurance. He farmed it 2 more years with almost the same results. He tells me the rest of that quarter , about 90 acres is , productive ground . He again asked about putting the former pasture into crp and was given a low figure. He was then told if he put both pieces in he would get about 40% more per acre.

 

[Prairie Drifter]

Here is the really stupid thing about crp payments- crp pays more to take productive land out of production then say pasture ground.
Friend told me he tried to enroll some no longer needed pasture in crp. No crp money available for pasture ground. He plowed and planted those acres took a loss and collected on crop insurance. He farmed it 2 more years with almost the same results. He tells me the rest of that quarter , about 90 acres is , productive ground . He again asked about putting the former pasture into crp and was given a low figure. He was then told if he put both pieces in he would get about 40% more per acre.

I guess one of the misnomers that I am guilty of is using the word idling. When you idle a piece of ground you quit using the natural pressures that make that habitat functional. We need a CRP that pays at least as much as the owner would make while farming or grazing it, and it needs to include the necessary manipulations to keep it in good condition. That would either need to be covered by the payment or there should be a payment for that manipulation.

 

[Dion B]

The CRP program needs major reform if for wildlife, the rental rates are not realistic in todays world.
With that being said to make CRP productive to wildlife it’s currently a government boondoggle costing taxpayers with little benefit to wildlife or environment.

 

[Dion B]

Precision ag is great for large areas, not such a easy sell for newer, larger equipment. Easy to farm though poor ground in small areas and farm the program. It looks good on paper but making it work is not so easy. Some areas on my property the non- productive areas are small , when you are farming with a 80 foot no-till drill and Sprayer that’s at least that wide? I believe that some of these acres should not be farmed , but PH also doesn’t allow grazing for 3 years after planting.

 

[Weimdogman]

That is a point I made - large equipment doesn't turn on a dime and if you leave a area in a field idle you still have to get to it for management. The whole farm economy has been messed up with government intervention for a long time and it isn't getting any better.

 

[4shot]

Here is the really stupid thing about crp payments- crp pays more to take productive land out of production then say pasture ground.
Friend told me he tried to enroll some no longer needed pasture in crp. No crp money available for pasture ground. He plowed and planted those acres took a loss and collected on crop insurance. He farmed it 2 more years with almost the same results. He tells me the rest of that quarter , about 90 acres is , productive ground . He again asked about putting the former pasture into crp and was given a low figure. He was then told if he put both pieces in he would get about 40% more per acre.

My guess the pasture was never in the farm program or had no base. He needed to farm it to creat a value. He knew it was crap so that’s why he didn’t farm it. His CRP payment where based on grazing prices not farming it