14 September DoveJohn, I just returned from my [location deleted] County dove hunt. It was an outstanding hunt and the doves were easy to come by if you could hit them. The attached picture is of Giz, my male shorthair, with our limit. We shot those dove in about 3 to 4 hours of hunting on a MAHA lease.
The next day we went to [location deleted] County and I didn't stay long. The dove numbers were not as good - that's hunting.
I did scout some areas in both counties for pheasant hunting ground and we should have an outstanding year based on all the birds I saw. The attached photos are of about 10 young pheasants. They ran off the road in to a ditch as I approached in my truck. I got Giz out and he landed a solid point of a young rooster that held long enough for a photo. The bird flushed and Giz remained steady, which is the picture of Giz watching the bird fly off. Look at Giz' eyes. That's why I hunt with pointing dogs!
I also saw a huge buck but he was so far away, I couldn't get a good photo. Giz also found about 5 young turkeys, which was his first pointed turkey.
MAHA properties look very promising for this pheasant hunter.
Take care, Bryan
Thank you Bryan for the dove report and giving us a chance to see a different dog.
Early Muzzleloader & ArcheryThe last of the silage corn is being chopped, ear corn harvest has begun. Early beans are turning, late beans are still green deer food. The weather has cooled significantly with lows this week to be the lowest since last spring. Give the Bur Oaks another short week to drop their acorns. Winter wheat and fall planted alfalfa is well underway.
Agriculture and HuntingWe have heard before about the threats to conservation and hunting resulting from the ongoing farming boom however, there is another pressure to the farming boom and conservation/hunting element. In the push between corn growers seeking more federal enhancements for ethanol causing the secondary effects of corn shortfalls and rising corn prices, the meat (hog, chicken and beef) producers are now complaining of thinning profit margins similar to the earlier issues raised by dairy farmers. The result is two farm lobbies, one promoting corn and ethanol and one against further government action that supports increased corn production. The loser in this battle could very well be land conservation to allow more acreage for grain production. Again, this is not news, just an evolution to an ongoing condition bound to be changing for some time.
"...Corn farmers are pushing for more ethanol production as the industry creates an enormous new market for their crop, giving corn prices the kind of lift they haven't seen in years. But the corn farmer's win is the hog farmer's loss. Meat, dairy, and other food producers are pushing back against the ethanol boom as higher grain prices cut into their already slim profit margins...The tension between grain producers and food producers is roiling agricultural markets around the world as high oil prices spur governments to subsidize food-based fuels like ethanol and biodiesel...The Mexican government this week put a cap on tortilla prices after prices shot up between 20 and 30 percent over uncertainty that there would be enough U.S. corn available for export. Brazil will ask the World Trade Organization to formally investigate U.S. farm subsidy programs -- including payments for ethanol production....grain costs for its chicken feed shot up $113 million in the third quarter of this year alone..." Business Week, Ethanol boom divides farm lobby, by Christopher Leonard, The Associated Press, September 13, 2007
The Other Side"Bank of America will provide The HSUS with 25 cents for every $100 in purchases you make with our exclusive card. And, as a bonus, for each card account opened and activated through this email, Bank of America will provide an additional $50 to The Humane Society of the United States." HSUS email newsletter, September 12, 2007, Make your credit card count for animals, Wayne Pacelle.
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