# 30-50% percent fewer wheat/barley fields in N.E. N.D.!



## Rick Acker (Sep 26, 2002)

According to one of my farmers in Petersburg! Expect to see lot's of bean fields. Could put a damper on field hunting, with lot's of competition for remaining fields?


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## h2ofwlr (Feb 6, 2004)

Everybody talks of the threats to ND hunting. Yet very few realize how much that that corn and beans in ND will change hunting in ND in the coming years


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## DeltaBoy (Mar 4, 2004)

I took a drive last week from Grand Forks to Bismarck and noticed a lot of farmers planted beans and corn.

It should be an interesting season.


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## brianb (Dec 27, 2005)

Ok, stupid non-native but soon to be a resident of your great state question. The affect of beans I see but how does corn affect field hunting?

When I lived in WI there wasn't much else for the geese to use but corn fields. They seemed to like it.

Will the birds ignore corn in favor of wheat / barley?

Brian


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## Chuck Smith (Feb 22, 2005)

Around my area of SE MN.....all I see planted is corn, beans, and pea's.....

Every feild can hold birds. Corn feilds seem to hold birds the longest.

If you look in my photo album I have a picture of a hunt in a bean feild in the late november.

The hunting will still be good for the ducks and geese in the feilds.


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## Rick Acker (Sep 26, 2002)

The difference is you can't hunt corn in September in N.D., heck most of the time, not till November! Simply fewer fields to hunt in October, is my point!


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## PJ (Oct 1, 2002)

Have you ever hunted corn in Sept? No. I hope not anyways. Beans? Maybe if they have a bad crop and are short enough for geese to feed in. (The only place I have seen this was in WI and we lit the geese up in them in the Sept. season.)
The reason low wheat and barley crops will hurt the hunting is because these crops come down in late Aug and are primarily hunted for geese in sept and geese and ducks in early Oct. When the corn and beans come down in LATE Oct then you can hunt corn and bean fields. Until then you have to hunt wheat or Barley if you hunt to field hunt. 
:beer:


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## WingedShooter7 (Oct 28, 2005)

Geese must really change feeding habits once they cross the ND/SD border cause where i hunt they all feed on stricktly corn they dont even bother eating beans or wheat. Every spread i set up in was a corn field, and we killed alot of geese this year. :beer:


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## Chuck Smith (Feb 22, 2005)

Thank you for the clarification.....

It is not that the birds will be around, but instead you can not hunt these feilds until later in the season.

Think of the late season hunting. :beer:

One thing to look for is if any farmer is planting sweet corn or pea's. Hunt these feilds. They typically area out the first couple of weeks of sept around here.


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## brianb (Dec 27, 2005)

Ah, didn't think of corn staying in longer.

I hunted corn fields cut for silage but those can be tough. Not much to hide in but they come out early. Probably not as much of that in ND as it was used mostly for dairy cattle.

Brian


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

Nothing has changed ND field hunting more than the introduction of peas IMO.


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## brianb (Dec 27, 2005)

Chris,

Could you elaborate for an uninformed outsider?

Thanks

Brian


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## PJ (Oct 1, 2002)

Geese love peas, farmers don't let hunters in peas.

Corn is fine in Oct, Nov.
What do you guys field hunt in Sept when there is no corn? Hay or grass fields? Water?


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## Chuck Smith (Feb 22, 2005)

In sept.....in my area.

We hunt sweet corn feilds (taken out early for canning)
Pea feilds
corn feilds (cut for silage)


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## goose_slayer29 (Jun 4, 2006)

I hunt grass fields close to crop land and small creeks. seems to be a lot of geese thou it dose seem to be harder to land um there. in southern minnesota I see nothing but corn and beans very little sweet corn and no wheat. even tried hunting rye field that didnt work lol.


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## Chuck Smith (Feb 22, 2005)

goose_slayer29

If you can find that sweet corn feild right after the combine has gone through......it is like crack to the birds. Very good shooting.


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## goose_slayer29 (Jun 4, 2006)

Ill try to look harder this year for sweet corn most farmers around here like to plant very small crops of sweet corn and much larger crops of field corn or soy beans. The land here in southern minnesota is VERY hard to get permission to hunt on Ive worked very hard and drove hundreds of miles every year knocking on doors and offering any help includeing my trade diesel mechanics in exchange for hunting permission. There has just been way to many scab hunters in the past for farmers to take a chance. I currently have permission to hunt 3 pieces of property. I wont give up thou this year I will focus alot more on sweet corn fields put on my smile and continue the battle.


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## Cinder (Sep 2, 2003)

I read somewhere that young geese have trouble digesting corn and wheat. Peas and barley are softer and one reason they may be more attractive in September. I would guess sweet corn is soft too.


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## the Bender (Mar 31, 2005)

I've shot Geese early in Oats, Wheat, Alfalfa, and Hay fields with good results. Once a shallow slough that had dried up had Geese loafing on the mud-flat near the last bit of water. Bagged a limit with 5 full bodies. Too bad about the competition for fields, but somehow you guys will kill some Geese. At least you're not hunting in Minnesota. Beans are almost entirely worthless for Birds, and Hunting. The only time I see Birds in Bean fields, it looks like a parking lot.(nowhere to hide hunters) Later once the crops are out the Corn should get busy. I wouldn't worry at all.

Beans Suck! Maybe we can get a Farmer to tell us about Peas, and Barley? I'm pretty sure the way Peas are taken out of the Fields, the waste is left right on top. Easy Pickens. That is the case in some Canadian Provinces, but that could be a result of older, less effeciant Farm Equipment.

We need a Farmer or Canadian here!!!


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## PJ (Oct 1, 2002)

Aah yes! Geese do love mud flats.


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## Chuck Smith (Feb 22, 2005)

goose_slayer...

Where r u from? I live by rochester MN.


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## goose_slayer29 (Jun 4, 2006)

I hunt northfield area somtimes fairbault area.


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## Chuck Smith (Feb 22, 2005)

Good area.....I had a friend who was a game warden in that area....now he is back around here.

There should be some canning feilds of sweet corn around montgomerey/lonsdale. I used to have a college roomate from montgomerey and he said there are sweet corn feilds all around. This was about 7 years ago though.


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## the Bender (Mar 31, 2005)

Beans!!! :evil: :evil: :evil:


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## Green head down (Jan 6, 2005)

I live in New prague which is 7 miles north of Monty. there is a fair amont of sweet corn I have alway had trouble getting on to sweet corn.


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

brianb said:


> Chris,
> 
> Could you elaborate for an uninformed outsider?
> 
> ...


The area we hunt most often has had pea fields showing up the past couple seasons. Birds ABSOLUTELY LOVE THEM. The peas are easy to spot (look like kix cereal) and birds can feed up in a short period of time. I've seen pea fields that attract every bird for up to 20 miles away...truly an amazing site. They fly over countless barley/wheat/corn fields en route to the field.

The problem is out of the, say, dozen fields of peas only a couple are accessible for hunting. The others are locked down by outfitters. You could try to run traffic in a field in the flight path but if you're not in the peas they don't even look.

So when there's a stall in the migration, every bird in the area ends up in one of the outfitter's fields and when they don't hunt them they turn into refuges with everyone on the outside looking in. Very frustrating to say the least.


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## brianb (Dec 27, 2005)

Thanks Chris.

Every area has its quirks.


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## kaiserduckhelm (May 26, 2005)

Chris Hustad said:


> they turn into refuges with everyone on the outside looking in. Very frustrating to say the least.


Kind of like the rolled corn outside of Arrowwood Refuge last fall. :roll: :******: Pulled most of the birds in the area.


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## goose (Jul 19, 2003)

Sometimes here in SD we have geese in late September in chopped corn/silage fields..by then the wheat stubble is getting brownish gray. After this we usually start seeing the geese in eather beans, chopped corn, or combined corn.


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