@farmerjan, I try to give people the benefit of the doubt, but after you have given him the title "know it all "big wildlife expert huntsman", and I imagine he has earned it by not letting any does be shot with an apparent over population of deer currently, I see your point and would agree with you based on your expanded explanation. Agricultural producers often are some of the best conservationists around and proponents of/for wildlife habitat. They can also fall on the other end of the spectrum. I consider myself somewhat unique in the fact that I have earned a Wildlife Science/Management degree and an Animal Science degree followed by a MS in Rangeland Resources. I don't readily advertise it, but the two initial degrees are actually quite complementary. Half or more of the general public tell me that when I inform them of this that I have to be lying because they think that there is no way someone who is dedicated to wildlife can also be dedicated to agriculture when in all actuality it is quite the opposite for those who are educated and have an open mind. It appears that your "know it all "big wildlife expert huntsman" is neither of these, even though I imagine he claims to be.
Exactly, he claims to be alot of what he is not. No offense to men in general, but he is the most male chauvinist knows it all I have ever met, treats his wife with little to no respect... came into this land through her family, and it is just a shame that his "knowledge" is not at all based in actual practicality. I am all for managing things to benefit both wildlife, and the ag sector. Grew up in a family of hunters, and came into what I do know and it is far from "extensive", in the ag world by doing, learning, and LISTENING to other farmers, seminars, reading,....
I know when things are being overgrazed, I know when feeding the soil with constant replacement of organic matter will do the most good and that rotational moving of animals often promotes the best benefits....
We are overrun with deer in this area... the does are way too plentiful, and the past 2 more mild winters have produced crops of fawns that has only added to the over population... I have seen 2 does with TRIPLETS trying to all suck at once... NOT COMMON in whitetails. If we have a harder winter, as is being called for this year, there will be more problems with the deer and then some dying from starvation... Less is better... deer, cattle grazing rather than eating the pastures into the dirt....
I don't have all the book learning or degrees you do and I am sure there are MANY things that you know that I do not... but after 20 years of seeing the increase in turkeys, the healthy foxes that are actually increasing here means there is enough game... the coyotes and their constant threats and depredation to the sheep, the huge deer numbers and now we are having a rather fast increase in black bears... tells me that things are going to reach a point where the balance is going to start to get out of whack.... and the other STUPID people that think that the bears coming into their yards and eating out of their bird feeders is "so neat".... is enough to make you want to scream...
One farm about an hour south has had such black bear damage in their fields this year that even the wildlife office has gotten into the act with them... besides the damage permits... in the last 2 weeks they have killed 9 bear... and when 2 were shot in a corn field they are destroying... 3 more came out while the guys were there gutting and retrieving the 2... they actually were concerned with the actions the bear exhibited... the farmers have been told to not go to that field alone.... come on... these are black bear that are supposed to pretty much mind their own business...
But getting back to this one place.... he wants the benefits of the ag exemption on the taxes and all... and because we still make hay we sign it... but we have lost a valuable place to winter cattle, he has lost a valuable "tool" in managing the farm to keep the increased improvement in the land... and I hope it comes back to bite him with all his "knowledge".... there is more to big "trophy racks" in deer hunting than just putting in some "food plots" for the deer.
You kinda get tired of dealing with all these ones that "know" how to do things but don't do any of the actual "doing it" themselves....and won't listen to the ones that have actually shown where things are better than when they started doing things....
