Reprinted with Permission
NAGA News
May 2015
Most upland hunting operators are in an ongoing effort to create habitat that provides functionality, durability and aesthetics, which enhance the experience that bring their guests back. What they learn is that they are usually involved in ongoing annual experiments with an array of success and results. Many of the comments for this article are pointed toward opinions in hunting the pheasant species and may not always be correct for all species.
A one-size-fits-all approach is usually not applicable to the wide variety of operations with unique situations and needs. Some hunting areas can be successfully utilized with passive management of annual crop residue and perennial growth on waste ground that our appraisers now call “recreational properties”. This is cost effective, but may avail itself to some improvements with a little investment and management, particularly in areas that will be hunted intensely.
Implementation of conservation programs with some of the CRP continuous sign up can
Combination of eastern red cedar shelter belt, native grasses, and sorghum mixes makes for a great pheasant hole.
be enticing for agricultural operations, especially when coupled with supplemental incentives when grain prices are at traditional levels. The filter strip CRP’s that are part of clean water legislation are very helpful in establishing hunt habitat from several perspectives. What may be an un-farmable draw through a field that is difficult to effectively hunt can become a drainage with bands of native grasses on each side that has all-season staying power.
The primary plant component for filter strips on the high plains is switch grass, it has a great appearance and resiliency that can still be with you at the end of the season. After establishment, annual burning, as an approved maintenance plan, will just improve it. Be advised that the particular makeup of the grass species mixes are determined by local FSA committee and they may have some latitude for variance. There are a variety of switch grass species with different characteristics. A moderate height is desired as some varieties can become 6 ft. tall and impede a safe hunting and shooting environment. The switch grasses’ greatest attribute is its ability to recover from a blizzard or ice storm that takes it to the ground, but stands back up with the snows dissipation. The filter strips provide a situation to facilitate small hunting parties in an efficient recovery of your gamebird assets. The establishment of the filter strip allows a straightening of field borders that assists with Ag operation efficiency. Strips are generally 30-120 ft. wide borders. You don’t need 120 feet of removed production to do the job, but 30 feet can be a bit tight for some hunting groups.
In establishment of cover/food plots, they should be located so parties can hunt them sequentially and systematically for a couple hours. A smooth flow will allow you to accommodate successive parties with relative ease; and with good coordination you can routinely hunt some areas with different parties four times a day.
The addition of annual sorghums, a traditional feed source and cover for upland gamebirds, can add the aesthetic elements that are ideal in accommodating a gamebird liberation environment. A variety of ideas on this have evolved at different operations. Generally a cover with adequate canopy will allow you high success in placement & distribution in daylight situations.
A major point that we think is important is the “you need more cover than you think you want to start, in order to have enough at the end.” Early season hunts of some sorghums can be challenging to the asset recovery teams. Resist the temptation to be overly aggressive with the bush hog when staff or guests comment that it is too thick, as they will be the same folks complaining of skimpy cover in January & February. The use of a smaller bush hog/mower can actually be of significant help in that it designates walking paths that help keep hunters from destroying established habitat and ground cover. Any self-respecting pheasant hunter thinks he has an obligation to kick every weed he comes close to. The defined path helps with this problem and guests will soon realize that the dogs don’t need all that much help.
Sorghum, milo, cane, and silage are first cousins widely utilized in establishing complementing cover/feed plots in much of North America. The sorghums are favored by the hunter and the hunted and can be managed to facilitate your respective operation.
Interior planter boxes of milo with outside two rows of hybrid sorghum for feed and cover.
We utilize an old first generation 8-row no-till planter with four interior rows of mixed milo varieties. Check with your local seed distributor for leftover test plot sorghum seed. Mixing the different varieties and colors yields great eye appeal. We plant the outside two seed boxes with a taller sorghum that at maturity or freeze down will hopefully break over at mid-stalk and lodge to make great sanctuary for hiding roosters. Try to avoid varieties with a heavy grain head that may be prone to breaking at ground level with a heavy wet snow or wind. It is beneficial to identify varieties with good leaf retention and adequate stalk strength for ice and snow issues that the typical seed company salesmen have not been coached about. The Pheasants Forever mixes (Blizzard Buster is one) have been developed for these objectives and can be a usable ready-made mix. Most of the sorghums won’t do well without fertilization, especially nitrogen.
The ongoing challenges that we face are the places where we prefer to annually plant the sorghums. In doing this, we foster some objectionable plant species. Our two biggest problems are with shatter-cane (a sorghum renegade first cousin) and pigweed (sometimes called red root) that the birds, dogs and people find to have no redeeming qualities. You can try to fight problem species with a combination of tillage, crop rotation, and pre- and post- emergent. The last four years have shown us that none of these techniques work without precipitation. The ideal answer would be a round-up ready sorghum seed variety, but the geneticists tells us that they are afraid of creating an evolved monster that might be more than difficult to control.
The only annual that comes close for rotational purposes is a Roundup Ready corn, but we don’t feel that standing corn offers adequate cover characteristics.
There is a substantial resource available in the Pheasants Forever staff that work in the FSA/NRCS offices. They are knowledgeable & can assist operators in implementing the wildlife CRP programs.
RR/NAGA/NAGA article May 2015
