The real threat to duck populations in the US

[kgpcr4]

Well guys you can boil it down to one main culprit. ETHANOL! Corn is at 7.35 a bushel right now. So much land has been pulled out of CRP in the Dakotas and MN its scary. Ethanol is a P-POOR alternative to oil. its way more expensive and has had a disasterous impact on ducks, pheasants, food prices at all levels and there is no end in site. So much corn is going to ethanol it is driving the price through the ceiling. Feed for chicken, beef and pork is going thru the roof due to high feed prices. As a motor fuel its truly laughable. If it were not for the HUGE subsidies you would not have ethanol as it would be WAY more expensive than gas per gallon plus you get 30% less mileage. With corn at 7.35 a bushel you will see more and more grassland converted to cornfields and swamps drained. The impact ethanol has had is mind blowing.

[goblueM]

yep its pretty sad. so devastating. only reason its around is the corn lobby is so powerful

[nate larson]

Agreed! Ethanol is a joke. Switch grass seems like a much better idea.

[TylerS]

Agreed! Ethanol is a joke. Switch grass seems like a much better idea.

Agree 1,000 percent! Good luck getting a politician to see that...

[Muthagoose]

Yup switch grass is MUCH better....

[CANOPY SAM]

Isn't a lot of a the CRP acreage being put back into production because the 10 yr. contracts are up? I know this has been a concern for the last few years because the lion's share of these contracts were not going to be renewable.

I guess if a farmer has to put soil bank acreage back into production why wouldn't he go with the most favorable cash crop? Keep in mind, there were also billions spent annually in subsidies for CRP acreage as well.

Not arguing, just seeking clarity on the issue.

[jpallen]

Yes CRP contracts are expiring in most cases. Many could renew but choose not to because profit is larger by renting the land or putting it into crop production. However, what I believe is a greater threat to expiring CRP is the 100s of thousands of acres of non-CRP native grasslands that being converted into crop ground. In central SD this is happening at sickening pace. Huge/vast areas of range/pasture ground are disappearing and likely gone forever.

[candiru]

The grassland that is being plowed for the first time is going to make for poor cropland. There is no risk to the farmers though. They are covered by Gov't crop insurance even though they will experience regular crop failures because it is poor quality land.

I don't think switchgrass is going to be the answer either. There needs to be some serious thinking before tons of money is put into another failure like corn-ethanol. The ag-lobby is very powerful.

[TylerS]

I don't think switchgrass is going to be the answer either. There needs to be some serious thinking before tons of money is put into another failure like corn-ethanol. The ag-lobby is very powerful.

Agreed that more research has to be done, but converting vast tracts of farmland back to switch grass or other native grasses would undoubtedly reverse the trend we're seeing today, regardless of the outcome of ethanol research. Think about it: if row crop fields were suddenly transferred back to grassland, habitat would explode and so would wildlife numbers.

[carpshooterdeluxe]

Commodities prices are having a more direct effect on the amount of tile going in, and like others posted, non-crp grasslands being added to production. CRP was near the acreage cap last year, and many lands that would have qualified in years past didn't pass the test for enrollment this time around. Gov only took the best of the best so to speak. We got turned down on adding 65 acres, only got one 200 ft. buffer strip 1/16 mile long enrolled. With the lack of rain we have had lately in eastern SD, all you have to do is drive around and see where the tile is going in. Farmers are able to get into the spots that were wet and fallow this spring and get the weeds under control and get tile in or drainage improvements done now. Also seeing a lot of fresh tile going in in SW MN. I drove from Sioux Falls to Sleepy Eye and back today. Saw a few quarters that were all tracked up with signs of fresh trenching and surveying.

I work just up the street from the big Ethanol boys here in SD...I have friends that are process engineers there. Switch grass has promise, but it will take a few more years and some lucky breaks from the Feds to really get it in motion.

[creepworm]

This may sound strange but the wetter than average years we have been having also is actually hurting duck populations in the future. In eastern sd for instance, the ground is sandy and marginal in many places. The last few years it has been wet enough in the summer to actually produce a crop. The problem has been getting a crop planted in the spring. So the farmer tiles the land, assuming he is planting a crop that will not just burn up in July and August. If he is right, he tiles more land the following year, thus taking seasonal wetlands away from waterfowl. Also, much of the pasture land is being turned into row crop land for the same reason, there has been enough rain to make it more profitable to grow crops on it than to raise cattle on it.

I believe a few years of average or below average rainfall will result in less tile and less conversion of grass and pasture land into crop land. Or at least I hope.

[kgpcr4]

in 2004 corn was 2.03 a bushel. Now its at 7.35. there is the reason for not renewing CRP. Soybeans are just as bad with bio diesel

[graingrower]

To all the sportmen opposed to rowcrop production: Let me see you feed the world with ducks, sand burs, and pocket gophers. You are welcome to purchase this "marginal" land to use as you see fit; until then, your disrespect for the people and industry that produces everything you eat, most of the things you wear, and an ever increasing amount of energy to enhance your lifestyle will further separate sportsmen from the agricultural entrprenuers that control land use. Hunters are on the outside looking in-watch your tongue as not one solitary privately held acre needs to be hunted. Next time you bother a landowner for hunting permission, remind him of you views on ethanol and modern production agriculture; dollars to doughnuts says neither your checkbook nor your mouth is wins.

[TylerS]

I don't see anyone badmouthing farmers. We're just making observations. Supply and demand, dontcha know. If you really were "feeding the world" out of the goodness of your heart, you wouldn't be worried about making a large profit every year, right? Besides, high corn prices is due to ethanol, not the fact that there's a huge demand for corn by consumers for table fare.

I don't think anyone ever said anything about being opposed to rowcrops. What we're frustrated with is the precipitous loss in grasslands and habitat due to high commodity prices and farmers being farmers. Can't blame 'em for that. Again, nothing negative toward them. They're just making a living like everyone else. What would help everyone out would be to get the CRP program cranking again...but with the poor economy, that won't likely happen for years to come; if ever.

By the way, you sure did come out guns blazing to what had been a pretty civil thread...

[Farley]

I'm not opposed to rowcrop production, I do plenty of hunting in cornfields.

[nate larson]

LOL...nobody is opposed to row crop production! My wife's folks are farmers and they do what they need to do to make a living just like anyone would.

That being said, corn based ethanol was a bad idea and the amount of government subsidies that goes into it is staggering. It is bad for our wetlands and wildlife, it is hard on our engines, it is inflating the cost of groceries, and it is a huge financial drain on our tax payers.

[creepworm]

To all the sportmen opposed to rowcrop production: Let me see you feed the world with ducks, sand burs, and pocket gophers. You are welcome to purchase this "marginal" land to use as you see fit; until then, your disrespect for the people and industry that produces everything you eat, most of the things you wear, and an ever increasing amount of energy to enhance your lifestyle will further separate sportsmen from the agricultural entrprenuers that control land use. Hunters are on the outside looking in-watch your tongue as not one solitary privately held acre needs to be hunted. Next time you bother a landowner for hunting permission, remind him of you views on ethanol and modern production agriculture; dollars to doughnuts says neither your checkbook nor your mouth is wins.

Thsi made me chuckle a little bit. I grew up on a farm and am currently in my final year of school, going for a degree in Agronomy. I certainly do not oppose row crop ag and currently am, and will continue to be empoyed by business in the ag sector. I am opposed to draining wetland and trying to farm land that simply is not fit to grow a crop. If it can't consistently grow a crop, it should not be cropped. Sounds pretty simple. Corn that averages 25 bushel an acre because of lack of moisture is not going to feed a whole lot of the world either.

[creepworm]

Besides, high corn prices is due to ethanol, not the fact that there's a huge demand for corn by consumers for table fare.

Just for full disclosure, there has been a significant increase in demand for corn for table fare. Both in the form of feed for livestock, and as sweetners such as high fructose corn syrup, which is in everything. However, this demand would not hold corn prices anywhere near the $7.50 a bushel prices we are seeing now.

[TylerS]

Just for full disclosure, there has been a significant increase in demand for corn for table fare. Both in the form of feed for livestock, and as sweetners such as high fructose corn syrup, which is in everything. However, this demand would not hold corn prices anywhere near the $7.50 a bushel prices we are seeing now.

That's an excellent point that I overlooked. High fructose corn syrup is in just about everything nowadays. But with the recent health/green movement, it's beginning to get pushed aside for, supposedly, healthier alternatives. Thanks for the clarification!

[kgpcr4]

Ethanol takes up a HUGE part of the corn crop. What a waste. I am glad farming got more profitable and dont blame them for planting all they can one bit but ethanol is about the dumbest alternative to oil there is

[smnduck]

+1 Corn crop on corn crop on corn crop. No rotation. Can't blame the farmer for trying to make money, but it does come at an expense to others in the form of increased fertilzer use,ethanol subsidies,gulf dead zone, increased food prices and the list goes on. Corn based Ethanol is a very short term solution at best.

[delcecchi]

Well, we could lift the import quotas on sugar and go back to the real thing instead of the high fructose corn syrup aka corn sugar that is used because US sugar is too high.

Why did some candy manufacturing move to Canada?

[vexi]

Just so you all know it is illegal to drain or tile a FW or known as a farm able wetland. SO to come on here and claim that the farmer is draining all the "wetlands" is ridiculous. On the crp topic I know several peaces of land in my area were the crp contract was up last year or the year before and could not re enroll because the land did not qualify for it anymore. They were forced to put marginal land back into production. Not saying all crp acres came out this way just something to think about.

[TylerS]

Just so you all know it is illegal to drain or tile a FW or known as a farm able wetland. SO to come on here and claim that the farmer is draining all the "wetlands" is ridiculous. On the crp topic I know several peaces of land in my area were the crp contract was up last year or the year before and could not re enroll because the land did not qualify for it anymore. They were forced to put marginal land back into production. Not saying all crp acres came out this way just something to think about.

Just a small quirk that bugs me a tad, but nobody is forcing farmers to put marginal land back into rotation if their CRP contracts are up. A farmer could, by all rights, keep marginal land as is and NOT farm it, even without that government money coming in. I mean, if it truly is marginal, they'd probably just as well let it lay fallow than risk farming it and, at best, only break even.

And its not the permanent wetlands I worry about with tiling. It's the seasonal wetlands that are so important for waterfowl that I worry about. Those small, spring-induced ponds and sloughs that dry up by early summer are key habitat for nesting waterfowl and shorebirds.

[carpshooterdeluxe]

Just so you all know it is illegal to drain or tile a FW or known as a farm able wetland. SO to come on here and claim that the farmer is draining all the "wetlands" is ridiculous. On the crp topic I know several peaces of land in my area were the crp contract was up last year or the year before and could not re enroll because the land did not qualify for it anymore. They were forced to put marginal land back into production. Not saying all crp acres came out this way just something to think about.

Correct on the CRP aspect. On the tile issue, I've seen first hand how pattern tiling affects the drainage, which in turn affects any seasonal wetlands. You don't need to run a tile line right through a wetland to drain it, just need to remove the water from the soil before it migrates into the wetland. This is why we don't see very many seasonal wet spots except for the wettest of springs in western MN. If an operator wants to, he can get really crafty with how the tile is installed. Most guys just want to improve drainage on their tillable acres to improve yield, and ultimately make more money. If I farmed I would do the same. But when a minority does things the wrong way, it makes everybody look bad. No different than if a slob hunter shoots a deer out the pickup window while tresspassing with his truck across a guy's field. Makes all deer hunters look bad. Drain tile will always be a contentious issue, and unfortunately, its here to stay.