Landowners May Enroll in Milo Management Program by Oct. 1

[Rick]

LINCOLN, NE – Landowners in parts of south-central and southwest Nebraska have until Oct. 1 to enroll milo stubble acres into an incentive program offered under the South-Central and Southwest Focus on Pheasants (FOP) initiatives.

The goals of the milo program are to increase and improve pheasant habitat, increase bird populations and provide additional public hunting access on private land. The program is offered in the south-central focus area – southern Harlan and Furnas counties – as well as the southwest focus areas of Hitchcock and portions of Hayes, Frontier and Red Willow counties.

Landowners are eligible to receive a $15-per-acre incentive for leaving milo stubble taller than 15 inches undisturbed until April 1. Each landowner may enroll up to 320 acres per year for two years. Although optional, landowners earn additional $3-per-acre payments if they allow public walk-in hunting access.

Leaving tall stubble provides multiple benefits to agriculture producers in dryland cropping rotations, including moisture savings and higher subsequent yields. Pheasants, quail and other grassland birds also benefit from the taller cover and food resources provided.

Focus on Pheasants is a joint effort by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Pheasants Forever and conservation partners to increase the pheasant population by creating and enhancing habitat through practices such as stubble management, interseeding, light disking, prescribed burning and the planting of native grasses and forbs.

Interested landowners in the South-Central FOP should call Game and Parks’ John Laux at 308-928-2541 or Justin Haahr at 308-865-5308. Interested landowners in the Southwest FOP should call Game and Parks’ T.J. Walker or Adam Kester at 308-535-8025.