Anyone who believes building a levy to flood row crops is "normal agriculture practices" is wrong.

Anyone who believes that du has not had a negative effect over the last few decades on southern duck hunting is a fool

Farming efficiency=production increase not necessarily more plowed ground. Since 2000 my production is up 30+% of on same plowed ground. That chart tracks efficiency since it’s all harvested grain

Now since Obama acreage plowed did go up a touch with him cutting/shrinking of the CRP program, I just don’t think see corn fields that are cut in sept or sooner short stoping ducks, especially since most are aren’t on major flyways, Infact as soon as mine are cut they get replanted with barely or wheat. Corn fields aren’t designed to hold water, vast majority of corn fields or ag in general aren’t waterfowl friendly.

BIG DITTO! One of the best waterfowl seasons I can ever remember had to do with over 1000 acres of corn that got hit by high winds and hail and laid the corn over where it couldn't be harvested efficiently. You can't even imagine the number of birds using this field. That was 8-10 years ago. I've hardly seen a bird on it since. Big time farming operations are very efficient and by the time water fowl get this far south they have already turned the ground once or twice preparing it for next year. I've walked acres of it and never seen a kernel of corn.

Another spot that for years was automatic was due to a farm with an old piece of equipment. You could walk that field and find ears of corn after it was harvested. Birds found it and stayed on it year after year after year. Two years ago the farmer switched to having someone with a more efficient machine harvest the crop for him and split the earnings. Splitting the earning by using a more efficient machine yielded higher profit for this farmer. Win, win for him. I've yet to see birds using that ground since he switched to a better farming practice. Don't believe everything you read on the internet!

Flooded grain fields and “normal AG practices” are two connected but separate things, apparently:



https://www.fws.gov/le/waterfowl-hunting-and-baiting.html

Good Lord the Retiree has to much time on his hands.

Waterfowl tend to eat most of the gain crops on the fall /winter movement. It does not take birds long to eat local fields, that have less grain with modern equipment. This is one of the biggest factors in birds here today and gone tomorrow. Water fowler's are so limited on the influences of local crop production and timing. I maybe speaking to deaf ears , but I approached a look of water body mangers( Lakes and impoundments) to try to grab federal funds to increase waterfowl habitat, but there is string of answers. It simple boils down to lack of interest, water is for city use or it never been done here. A lot of the state managed water bodies are not geared to produce waterfowl habitat in any from but under natures scheme. If we want bird numbers we need to help birds here before they return to the nesting grounds. An old hunter once said " you miss a bird and that a seed bird, I hope it raises two. One to shoot and one to breed." I hope we can raise more than two. Please push local mangers to use funds on not just water holding, but habitat management.

https://www.farmprogress.com/crop-report/usda-crop-progress-corn-harvest-crosses-another-milestone

Acreage has increased but I agree that it can be assumed that efficiencies have outpaced the increase in acres planted overall. A majority of crop harvests are done through Oct and Nov. I was hunting pheasants in Kansas in mid December and there was still people harvesting plenty of Milo due to the wet fall. I am by no means an authority on agriculture but a section of harvested corn/milo/soybeans has plenty of waste grain from my experience. It isn't picked clean in a day. Again just one of the multitude of factors that can have an impact. Weather is always the most critical.

Hey Everyone,

I used to live in the exact area that the debate is all about. West Central Illinois on the Mississippi river. I hunted up there from the mid 70s until the early 2000s. When I was a kid hunting with my dad in the 70s it was rest areas only and very little corn in them. The ducks would fly out everyday to feed and the hunting was good. Then the low numbers of the 80s hit and we all remember the 3/30 seasons of the 80s and early 90s. Then the population boom began and over time from the mid 90s on you began to see refuges with standing corn in them AND private landowners began lease operations. It didn't take long for fields to be levied off and the corn / crops to be flooded. This has been going on for 15+ years in that area ( IL / Mo ) and grows larger each year. There are literally thousands of private acres in the Mississippi river bottoms that are farmed for ducks now. Take a look at the Forbes Biological Station face book page , they took photos of the river bottoms during a survey and the amount of flooded fields is amazing.

I still talk to people that hunt up there and there is so much flooded corn that the food supply is endless. Couple this with private & public refuges and the ducks simply go nocturnal to feed. Keep in mind, flooded corn is still accessible to the birds after a freeze or snow. I'll give you that this is the high profile area but we all now that this goes on to some extent in the central fly way north of us also.

So here's the question, has the vast amount of flooded food altered the migration???? I still feel that weather does play a roll in addition to the time of year ( amount of day light ) but the question has to be asked. Given the fall off in harvest numbers and the experiences of everyday hunters in the south is farming for ducks affecting the migration. With food being offered on such a larger scale in this manner has it changed the migration of ducks??? We all know that ducks imprint on areas and will only go far enough south to find food and open water. How bad does the weather have to get to drive them away from a food source that wont be covered by snow or frozen over? Are we finally seeing the long term effects of this in the south and enough birds have been imprinted over the years that the migration is short stopping. We wouldn't know this for years until a dedicated study would be done on it but I have a feeling it may be a bigger factor than people think.

Let's be honest here though; if you duck hunt over any type of ag field it's baiting. In some areas the land owner makes more by not harvesting and selling corporate duck leases. That's not normal ag practices. Yeah, maybe it's legal because you planted it last year and the GW ok'ed it, but it's still hunting over bait.
Don't know why some get mad when another organization does it, but have no problem with their lease doing it.

Most of this is pure mumbo jumbo. Ducks have more to eat than they can utilize all the way down the central flyway due to intensive Ag practices. Puddle ducks mostly feed on dry land in harvested grain fields all the way into texas as they migrate and use water for resting and roosting. The last two years, North Dakota has froze up either the first or second week of November. The birds did the same as always. They came just south of the freeze line. I was there and saw it as I have for many years. By and large the major migration in the central flyway has progressively moved west and is observable as the birds come out of Canada through the Dakotas. Burgeoning numbers that now winter in west Texas are further evidence. While other states are spending money on habitat enhancement as it should be, here in Texas, we are losing wintering habitat at an alarming rate. Particularly the rice farms on the coastal prairie that traditionally wintered staggering numbers of birds and are no longer farmed. For those that travelled north up the central flyway for Christmas this year, I'm sure you saw large numbers of waterfowl in central Oklahoma, just south of the freeze line. Waterfowl migrations are controlled by weather. Habitat dictates where they migrate too. I have spent a great deal of time hunting the prairie pot hole region for many years. I have witnessed countless wetlands drained, and CRP acres that waterfowl rear young in, go under the plow in the name of high yield agriculture. Can't blame the farmers for wanting the added income. DU buys up these unproductive acres and preserves them as waterfowl production areas. They are open to public hunting. I have no affiliation with DU. Just passing along what I see first hand. Here in the south, particularly Texas, more and more habitat is lost every year. Hunters are compressed into less area. Migrating birds react and migrations shift. Another dynamic many turn a blind eye to is the fact that for the last two years, the central plains have been in a historic drought. Much of the water ducks and geese historically rested on has been dry and available habitat is severely stressed. This natural draw down will rejuvenate wetlands but without winter weather to push the migration southward, there is no reason for the puddle ducks and geese to leave the horizon to horizon bounty the agriculture of the central plains offers. As for more and more acres in corn, it is mainly fueled by government mandated ethanol. Another big player in this years season was our federal government shutdown. Federal rufuges that are traditionally hunted, with much prime habitat closed to the public, due to the government shutdown, served as unpressured sanctuaries for waterfowl that did come south. Like it or not, as waterfowlers in the south, we are beholding to winter weather to bring the birds to us and the weather patterns of the last few years have not been in our favor.

I recently sold my membership in a 2000 acre duck club/ranch in the state of Washington (Pacific Flyway) and hoping/expecting to move to Texas in the near term. Almost all of the ranch is in NRCS/WRP and has been flooded for years to create wetlands and originally to run cattle. It has also had DU contributions over the years. I am not going to provide much judgement here, although I have some strong opinions.. The property has had fabulous hunting over the years and is in a premier mallard spot in Eastern Washington. Over a 20 year period the ranch has transformed from flooded smartweed and millet to many acres of flooded food plots, particularly standing flooded corn. My observation believes this approach has concentrated the ducks into a feed station of ducks coming into the flooded corn fields near dark and leaving when kicked up by hunters going to blinds in the morning. The property still is productive, however the hunting has become more spotty over the past few years with fewer spots holding large quantities of ducks. During ice up the ranch has enough running water to keep open water in several areas of the fields. At that time, hunting is more like killing than hunting. Our members have argued for several yeas about hunting flooded corn. The for camp believes this is the only way to compete with flooded corn 50 to 100 miles north of the ranch. Others argue that this is really not a fair hunt, particularly during ice up. Various skill levels and number of guests per party also comes into play.

I don't feel it is appropriate for me to provide addition information. I do believe that this is an issue worth debating. It clearly benefits the rich and clubs over public hunters.
If you have other questions, please contact me privately.

In my experience, it has the same effect as flooded rice. I think that comparison is where the heart of this arguement lies.

Most of the people I talk to in Washington would agree.

I got blocked from FF after a mod asked me directly if I was a believer in the northern states were the cause of short stopping ducks. I just typed "No". That was that. LOL I truly believe the lack of birds has everything to do with weather patterns on a natural change.

That ain't why you got blocked. I told them you're a card carrying liberal and still believes Obama was the best President ever.

it seems logical to think that flooded corn and other grains have a big impact on ducks coming to texas and other southern states. But, we have a decrease year to year occurring on duck species that do not feed on grain for the most part. There's something more going hard that is hard to pin point exactly. Whether it be weather, hunting pressure, decreasing habitat in "traditional" areas year to year, increased stock ponds in non traditional areas, etc.

Vast majority of DU projects are private especially when you add in thier WRP influences. Your idea of unproductive and mine are different. I’ve hunted a bunch of DU “funded” enhanced properties located all over the US, Infact even a property that was gifted to DU, sold and later enhanced with DU dollars and tax payer money .

The freeze line is the major culprit but the feedline and kept openwater isn’t far behind.

I personally can’t phathom flooding my corn at a cost of over 2k an acre in expenditures and lost grain revenue, but I’ve hunted flooded corn up north and know the effectiveness.

Point is DU is far from being beyond reproach.

i wonder if there is a correlation between the amount of money these guys pay for clubs/leases/hunts and the amount they bitch and want to point the finger at someone for not having birds.

I think DU is in the business of preserving and enhancing waterfowl habitat. A large percentage of waterfowl habitat in this country lies within the confines of private property.....

Your view on habitat for migratory birds is somewhat one dimensional. It is needed the entire length of the flyway but particularly where they rear their young and that is far north of here. Whether you understand it or not, the birds we shoot in the south are born and bred and live most of their lives far north of here. (at least 8 months out of the year). I don't buy into the "cut your nose off to spite your face" mentality.

So how do you explain the relatively new phenomenon of black bellied whistling ducks expanding their migration northward coinciding with northern birds that are suited to colder temps not migrating as far south? I believe that weather is the culprit....

As waterfowl hunters, we are our own worst enemy. Between the Internet and the recent dramatic increase in duck boats equipped with mud motors, there are very few public sanctuaries left where waterfowl can rest that today's hunters can't and dont get at them.....sadly i see waterfowl trending the same direction as deer hunting. Overhunted and abused public areas becoming less productive and pay to hunt private operations gaining traction....

Edited to add: what I perceive to be unproductive acres are the native prairie grass enrolled in CRP that waterfowl utilize to nest in and wetlands. Currently they are not being farmed, hence I describe them as unproductive. That is what makes the duck factory what it is. As far as I know, DU is the only organization I am aware of that is attempting to preserve that critical nesting habitat. I see far more unproductive acres annually converted to Ag, as the CRP acres are not renewed, than I see set aside for future waterfowl reproduction. Don't take my word for it though, do the research yourself and draw your own conclusions.

My view of habitat isn’t on dimensional. I have land in the CRP and WRP program. There is a huge difference in preserving nesting habitat, preserving seasonal wetlands, And creating private multi-million dollar hunting encampments on tax payer dollars. I’ve hunted them, know the backstory from the owners etc. My issue isn’t the preservation of wetlands and nesting habitat, and/or seasonal wetlands that the tax payer funded programs are for, it the miss use of how those funds as being appropriate and DU ability to appropriate. There is more open water then ever before. You want more ducks, then put ALL your efforts to maximize recruitment. A duck has the ability to mov 800 miles as a one day range with a good tail wind.

There is no new phenomenon, I saw blk belly duck in north Texas 20 years ago, you aren’t seeing a huge new migration you are seeing population growth and dispersal, they are expanding or reclaiming thier breeding area depending on how you view traditional migratory populations.

We have seen a huge flyway migration of specks, is that temperature related or agriculture appropriation/utilization?

I get the freeze line my farm is in Northern Oklahoma, and I grew up and still hunt waterfowl there, I get milder weather during some seasons, but I’m not agruing that, I’m arguing how DU is using tax payer funds for privatization of migratory waterfowl.

if Bobo floods his corn i am coming up and setting out crab traps

Wins. Shut it down