Outdoor news

Pheasant cover

BOONE They Gotta Have Cover is a new and catchy way to call attention to what farmers can do to bring back pheasants and other grassland birds.

Debuting at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Aug. 26-28, the video features three farmers rapping about the cover types theyve planted, then nurtured to shelter and feed pheasant throughout the year.

Once you hear the lyrics, you wont be able to forget them.

They gotta have cover! Yes they do, yes they do! or

Gotta have grass for the pheasants to nest, 10 to 12 inches is what the hens like best.

Its not as simple as planting a field of brome or switch grass, and watching the birds fly. The DNRs research shows that managed farms with three essential types of habitat produce more birds than unmanaged farms three times as many.

Whats good for pheasant is good for most grassland birds, from meadowlarks to quail; Henslowe sparrows to bobolinks.

Since the 1960s, Iowa has lost half the ideal land for grassland birds land in hay and small grains like oats dropping from more than 7 million to 3.4 million acres. As a result, grassland birds are in trouble.

Gotta have Cover gives farmers a quick tutorial on how to bring the birds back. The video is on the Iowa DNRs pheasant page atwww.iowadnr.gov/pheasants.

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