DU Canada is also working directly with agricultural producers to replace spring crops with winter wheat. Planted in fall, winter wheat provides good early nesting cover for waterfowl the following spring and is not harvested until well after hens hatch their broods. Early attempts to develop viable winter wheat strains by researchers at the University of Saskatchewan showed promise, but government funding for further development expired. DU responded with financial and technical support, contributing significantly to the development of several winter wheat hybrids. The result has been a great victory for nesting waterfowl and for wheat farmers across Prairie Canada. Early research shows excellent duck nest success in winter wheat, and a growing number of farmers are now planting the crop, which should bode well for nesting waterfowl. In fall 2007, 1.5 million acres of winter wheat were planted across Prairie Canada, and increasingly, farmers are interested in expanding their winter wheat acreage, a mutually beneficial solution for farmers and ducks, catalyzed by DU.
Conserving America’s Heartland
Most waterfowlers know that agriculture is the dominant landscape feature across much of America’s heartland. Many of us have spent hours lying on our backs in cornfields, hunting productive farmland for ducks and geese. Across the Midwest, DU actively works with farmers, ranchers, and other landowners who want to “farm the best, conserve the rest.”
Among these enlightened landowners is Herb Metzger of northern Ohio. For several generations, the Metzger family has farmed along Lake Erie’s famed Sandusky Bay, growing corn, soybeans, wheat, and fruit trees. The Lake Erie Marsh region is a key staging area for black ducks and a high priority for DU’s conservation efforts. Several of Metzger’s fields were once wetlands that were drained early in the century and now must be pumped frequently to produce crops. But the highly organic hydric soils produce excellent yields if the rain and moisture are just right. Recently, Metzger determined that some of the fields just weren’t worth the battle, so he enrolled them in CRP, planted them in warm-season grasses, and restored wetland basins.
Response by waterfowl and other wildlife has been fantastic. One wetland has hosted a nesting pair of endangered trumpeter swans for several years, and the pair fledges young almost every year. Other nesting waterfowl include mallards, wood ducks, blue-winged teal, and Canada geese.
“Raising ducks, geese, and swans on that land has been more productive than trying to grow crops, and we get so much enjoyment from watching the wildlife,” Metzger says. “Working with the Farm Bill conservation programs, Ducks Unlimited, and other organizations made the effort work smoothly and efficiently.”
Safeguarding Chesapeake Bay
Tim and Susan Brown have owned a 632-acre farm in Accomack County, Virginia, since 1994. It’s located on the northern half of a peninsula that looks west across Chesapeake Bay and east across the Atlantic Ocean. Living between such vital resources for people and wildlife, the Browns felt a heightened sense of responsibility to manage their land in a way that promotes the health of these waters. With this spirit of stewardship, the Browns sought an economical yet environmentally sound solution to an ongoing problem.
“We kept experiencing low crop yields on a field that previously had been poorly drained,” Tim Brown explained. So in 2005, the Browns tapped into funding from NAWCA and other partners to restore nine of their most unprofitable acres back to beneficial wetlands. Through CREP and with assistance from DU, they also planted 16 acres of warm-season grasses along Hunting Creek, creating a creek buffer and providing habitat for waterfowl and other birds. The Browns’ farm now provides good income as well as significant environmental benefits, helping to safeguard the integrity of Chesapeake Bay for future generations.