# Courteous Road Behavior In Farm Country



## Dick Monson (Aug 12, 2002)

(I stole Bobm's post) but it needs airing seperatly. I have coffee every morning with a bunch of grouchy old farmers. One of their pet gripes about hunters deals with roads. 


> Pull out of the way so others can get by and don't block access to fields farmers may have to get into to harvest ect.
> 
> You are worring about nothing you can get around just fine use a little common sense because everthng is far apart in ND.
> 
> ...


If the road is soft from rain, don't tear it up. The farmer has to live with it all winter if it freezes and he will probably have to fix it, and he will blame every hunter he sees for the next sixty years. That goes for fields and dirt section lines too. Tearing one up is as bad as leaving a gate open.
Don't park on the road or on the approach. Pull off on the edge of the field or into the ditch.
If you see a combine or tractor or grain truck coming, pull off on the nearest approach to give him plenty of room. Otherwise he'll say those */#@! hunters couldn't wait 3 minutes for me to get by. And the reason is that the width and weight of farm equipment makes the driver very nervous about road shoulders when meeting another vehicle.

Never ever park on the road with the doors open while chasing a bird.


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

Good advice from the president of the grouchy old farmer coffee club :lol:

Dick is it legal to pull into the edge of a plots field?

I always do to leave room for combines and stuff to go by but always wondered if I could get a ticket for it.


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## Dak (Feb 28, 2005)

Amen. After the big snow last October, there were lots of hunters out driving around on opening weekend around here. All they did was rut up the roads and get stuck. Please be considerate of all.


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## zogman (Mar 20, 2002)

Bob,
This isn't downtown Atlanta :lol: 
No tickets, maybe soneone would push you a little further off the road or roll a stick of dynamite under the ole family truckster :toofunny:


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

OK, no tickets I forgot North Dakotans can't write :wink:

all kidding aside is it legal or not to pull a car length or so up into the Plots??


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## Jiffy (Apr 22, 2005)

Just park on the side of the road or the ditch....gggeeesssshhh


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## Habitat Hugger (Jan 19, 2005)

Well put, Dick! You should post it on Brand X website as well.
One other thing - park out in the open where someone else can see you for a distance - not just over a hill or on a corner where a normal speed vehicle might schmuck you. With everyone driving a 4WD these days usually it's no problem parking in the ditch. 
Also, be careful when driving around out there. Each year I see hunters driving around on autopilot with all eyes out in the field, none on the road, especially on hills! Worse than the cell-phoned teenybopper!


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## rowdie (Jan 19, 2005)

And don't leave your empty shells on the roads or even in the fields.


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## Habitat Hugger (Jan 19, 2005)

Not even a hunter but I almost plowed into a guy today! He was parked just over the lip of the hill IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD talking on his cell phone!!! Luckily I was watching ahead (for a change -ha!) but even then barely saw him in time swerve and miss him by I'm sure, less than 6 inches! I didn't know I wasn't going to hit him till I got past! 
So PULL OVER when you park near the top of the hill to get better reception from your cell phone!


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## dakotashooter2 (Oct 31, 2003)

I agree. I always try to give the farmer the right of way after all he is "at work".

I do have an issue with many farmers hanging the blame on hunters for torn up roads. Granted it does happen probably more than it should but I have seen farmers and or their neighbors do their share of tearing up a road pretty bad then complain about the D##M hunters doing the damage.

Same goes for fields. I've been in fields that had nastier holes made by the farm equipment than I could ever produce with my vehicle. Still I try to respect thier property and not do such damage.

I don't think it is even an issue of causing damage or problems for their equipment as much as sign of disrespect.

note: A trick my grandfather (farmer) taught me..... on a dirt road most have grass in the middle. When they are wet and keep your tires off the track and in the grass. The ground tends to be firmer there and the road doesn't get torn up as bad.


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## pack999 (Jun 9, 2006)

Also if you are out hunting and see a coyote, shoot it. I guess pheasant hunters wouldn't have the right gun for the job, but farmers will love you if you knock on their door holding up a dead coyote.

Also if you are hunting near roads with dogs call your dogs over and hold them as cars drive by. It makes me nervous driving by dogs in ditches. It also keeps your dog safe.


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## Dick Monson (Aug 12, 2002)

ttt. Got a call today about duck hunters truck parked on a road with water on both sides. (?) Don't even park on the shoulder, most combine headers are 30' or more now, and semi trailers are loaded heavy. Corn harvest is starting so there will 4 times the truck traffic headed for the bins.


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## Nick Roehl (Mar 7, 2002)

Farmers tear up the roads just as much as hunters do. I worked for farmers, my dad has farmed for the Yaggie family for 35 plus years, and I have farmed for my uncle just a couple miles south of Monango. I always try my best to just get out of there way when they are working. But like what was said Grumpy Old Farmers. The key word is GRUMPY. If there not mad about one thing it will be another no way around that.


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## 2Socks (Apr 18, 2006)

True maybe it is best to be courteous just to be courteous, not to try to keep anyone happy. Think good Karma...kill many birds.


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## bloodnguts (Nov 22, 2005)

Maybe the farmer's daughters are making them grumpy.


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## coyote_buster (Mar 11, 2007)

One of my friend was pulling wagons and got over to the side of the road for a car, the edge of the road caved in and rolled the wagon over and broke some stuff on the wagon, he was lucky the hitch pin broke and the tractor didn't roll over. Our neighbor did the same thing but then he hit a big clod of dirt from when they graded it and blew out the front tire and none of us believed he didn't roll it. Even though most people dont have the header on when they are on the road it still takes lots of room so be slow and get way over when aproaching the top of a hill during harvest. The scariest one I seen is when I was behind one of the neighbors and he got over for me to pass him. The side of the road started caving and the other side of the wagon was about three or four inches of the ground. Well then he came to a drive way and the right side came up out of the ditch and the other side came back down.


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## coyote_buster (Mar 11, 2007)

hey dakota, thats called a minumum maintenance road.


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