April 2008 Updates page 8
10 April
First Year Member
Thank you for a fine photo of a fine buck. Congratulations!
Spring Turkey
Southern KS the wheat the turkey like so much is about 4 inches high and the cover in the woods is very thin. They are doing a lot of burning right now.
A southern Kansas tom on wheat.
CRP
Hunters are tired of this topic and it shows in the mainstream media and political lobbying.
The New York Times, Business Section, The Food Chain, As Prices Rise, Farmers Spurn Conservation Program, by David Streitfeld, April 9, 2008.
"Environmental and hunting groups are warning that years of progress could soon be lost, particularly with the native prairie in the Upper Midwest. But a broad coalition of baking, poultry, snack food, ethanol and livestock groups say bigger harvests are a more important priority than habitats for waterfowl and other wildlife...The government payments [CRP], Mr. Dockter said, 'aren't even comparable anymore' to what he could make by working the land. He plans to devote some of his conservation acres to growing feed for his cows and some to grazing. He might also lease some land to neighbors"
...bakers and their allies are aiming for, saying the Conservation Reserve costs taxpayers and hurts consumers...
...'This program is taking money out of your pocket twice a day,' said Jay Truitt, vice president for government affairs for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. 'Do you think it's right for you to pay so there's more quail in Kansas?' (PF, QU, DU never even got into this fight)
...The American Soybean Association is in favor. "We need more food," said John Hoffman, the association's president."
