20 February Upland Birds"...early January hunt. I and my dog averaged six birds each day in the bag between pheasant and quail....weather was good the entire trip...roads fair to poor to impassable...not another hunter..."
More pictures to come from this hunt. For the rest of us this hunter is known to a good handful of other members most over 10 years of membership and they all share where they have hunted and what they have seen although few actually hunt together. To meet him in the field is to have a good conversation and perhaps a shared meal that evening.
19 February Late SeasonContinuing season long pictures from one group that has much to show.
Congratulations guys, thank you for sharing your good pictures. More to come...
CRP"...Contracts on 5.1 million acres enrolled in the CRP expired on September 30, 2007. New contracts were established for 2.6 million of those acres, so that 2.5 million acres left the program. As of December 2007, the USDA’s Farm Service Agency reported 753,000 CRP contracts for a total of 34.6 million acres..." With less CRP acreage currently enrolled and a 50% decline at contract renewal Congress has little motivation to sustain proposed CRP funding levels in the embattled 2007 Farm Bill yet being re-written one more time. When looking for funds to pay for other Farm Bill requirements CRP funding is a likely source for shifting resources. Darrel Good, Extension Economist, University of Illinois, Purdue Outlook: High Crop Prices & The Conservation Reserve Program, 2/18/2008, as reported in the Cattle Network, a special interest group that promotes cattle interests supporting increased crop and decreased CRP acreage to make for lower cost cattle feed. Nothing in the main stream media again from any conservation group promoting CRP.
18 February Quick Hunt
John- Little late in getting back to you, but I again had a great time in [location deleted] in mid-November. Attached is the 8 pt buck I shot after a few days. Not the greatest picture, solo hunts are not always the most conducive to good pictures. Shot him early in the morning, got him quartered and started the drive back to GA shortly thereafter. Shot him in [location deleted]; he was about the 10th buck of this size I saw over the course of 3 days. Saw a couple that I would classify as "slobs;" obviously old deer, sway backs, etc... but never got them closer that 50 yards. Last year I did not shoot a deer in [location deleted]; passed on many the size I shot this year. A trophy to me none-the-less- I stopped him with a mouth bleat at 25 yards, made a double lung shot and he literally fell 25 yards from where I shot him.
Other I can only manage to see/hear in [location deleted]: 2 bucks fighting in a thicket that sounded like someone driving a pickup back and forth, knocking over timber. Did not think about it at the time, but the way they were going at it I probably could have stalked up on them. Also, for about 15 minutes one morning I had a bobcat sitting 15 yards from me on a stump, 2 bucks fighting behind me in some cedar trees and another buck chasing does in circles. This is really the stuff I get a kick out of.
On the downside, I did come across a road-hunted buck. My curiosity got to me when I saw some vultures and crows obviously on something about 75 yards off the road. When I walked up I found a very large bodied deer with its head cut off. There were truck tracks going up to the area. I subsequently saw a County Sherriff in the area and he mentioned that he had someone they suspected of road hunting, in addition to some drug trafficking. I wish I had my own "robo-deer"... he'd shoot back.
I could not be happier with joining MAHA. While it is not for everyone, even with one trip a year to [location deleted] for deer hunting (for now) it is definitely a tremendous value. Keep up the great work on the updates page, I look at it frequently, it always brings a smile to my face. Take care [name deleted]
For the rest of us this hunter not only travels on a limited schedule, he is an active duty military officer. With his time constraints he shows the rest of us there is little excuse not to enjoy life.
Thank you for your hunt account and picture. I am sure your contribution has broken up the daily grind for someone.
PerspectiveA short story of a senior landowner that told us that when he was young he didn't see, deer, turkey or rabbits. If he did he was out to shoot them as they were food that was necessary for daily survival. Now he only eats beef and pork. His point being how farming has changed from then to now, from subsistence to surplus. His belief for why we have the wildlife we have now is that hunting is recreation.
FarmingSecond order effects continue relative to changing farm product profits to include a reduction in cattle. The overall past year cattle herd has declined 1% and while a seemingly small percentage the outlook shows that trend to continue. That decline is due to rising cattle related costs, lower calf prices, competition for pasture and reduced farm work hours for cattle as more is spent on higher profit efforts. The latest indication comes from The Cattle Network, In The Cattle Markets: Beef Cow Herd Liquidation On The Horizon?, 2/15/2008, stating: "...female slaughter (cow and heifer slaughter, combined) expressed as percentage of steer slaughter is running ahead of last year and at a level that suggests liquidation is taking place.." The article continues describing a 9 year trend that further supports a continuing cattle herd reduction.
Pasture availability in the future may become more limited as pasture land in many areas can be readily, at low cost of effort, time and money be converted to bio-fuel production of Switchgrass. The profit margin for Switchgrass compared to beef is large, if Switchgrass becomes a viable fuel source. This would leave pasture area not suited for Switchgrass to wildlife most likely over that of cattle.
The value with this analysis is that not all the news predicting where the current rapid change in farming is headed is bad for hunters. Just as DU and PF seem to promote the bad news of declining contiguous tall grass CRP means the end of pheasant and duck hunting as we know it, that analysis in terms of duck ignores the Canada Boreal region.
Conservation GroupsSeems some feelings were hurt by our earlier update on CRP and how no news comes from any of the major conservation groups influencing the Farm Bill. The response is news articles on their own websites or magazine does not count. All need to understand who and how to influence and not until the conservation groups become as effective as HSUS or PETA in mainstream media will they get in the public relations game. Get the picture? Having a voting block is not enough. Swaying the uniformed public is a requirement of the information age.
Free Market & HuntingThere is more to hunt quality anymore than just leasing land. Land surrounding any lease is as important as the lease itself. "...Agriculture Department is not considering restrictions on U.S. wheat exports...amid food-industry concern about high prices and a dwindling stockpile...American Baking Association has suggested USDA curtail wheat exports to make sure there is enough wheat for domestic use..." More motivation for more crop acreage. USDA Not Considering Wheat Export Controls, February 15, 2008, Illinois Farm Bureau. February 2008 Updates page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 |
