Texas Hunting Leases

A quick survey of deer corn prices for 50 lb. bags is a little shocking.  Some reports have it getting close to the $10 mark.  If things keep going like this, it will soon pass up protein - is a barrel of oil next?  It makes you think about your off-season feeding regimen, if gas prices have not got you thinking already.  And, there may be no end in sight for a while.

If memory serves me right, that same bag of corn was around $5.00 a few years ago.  Some feed store operators predict prices will be up nearly 50% from last year.  And, it will be a good idea to shop around and buy in bulk if available.  If you are having to drive down to the lease to fill feeders, you might consider rotating your feeders or even buying bigger ones.  The first will cut down on the corn you use, the other on the number of times you need to drive down to fill them.  Sure, bigger feeders are more expensive, but compare that to a tank of gas.  Especially for those who drive more than a few hours to the lease.  If you want to get ahead of the curve and buy your corn now, you need to be concerned with storage.  Keeping pests out of stored corn is a chore at best.  Some recommend using medicated cattle ear-tags to keep pests away, and its also a good idea to put these in feeder motor boxes to keep out insects as well. 

Hunters are feeling price pressures from every aspect of the sport.  Good leases are getting further away from most major cities as the “ranchette” craze continues in nearby counties.  Those same leases are also costing more as the Texas oil-based economy brings surplus dollars for “corporate leases”.  Their bigger budgets push out the average hunter who are starting to have long-term leases pulled right out from under them.  Firearms and ammunition are going up too, as manufacturing materials used for both are at all time highs.  Finally, fuel costs round out the siege to complete a painful undertaking for those who are still mad at the horns.

It remains to be seen if our legislators will provide some price relief in the form of ethanol legislation.  The mandates most certainly have contributed to the cost and price speculation.  On a drive down to South Texas recently, fields that I usually see filled with budding cotton plants are now brimming with stalks and ears.  More supply, yes, but will it be enough to catch up to demand?  One can only hope.  I wonder how many bags of corn can fit in an oil barrel anyways.

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is proposing moving the South Zone second split of dove season deeper into January, but otherwise is recommending minimal changes to the 2008-09 Early Migratory Game Bird Proclamation.

TPWD staff announced the proposed dove and teal season calendar during the Regulations Committee meeting of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission, Wednesday, May 21.

The proposed dove season in the North Zone would run Sept. 1-Oct. 30, with a 15-bird bag and not more than two white-tipped doves; the Central Zone would be Sept. 1-Oct. 30 and reopen Dec. 26-Jan. 4, with a 12-bird bag and not more than two white-tipped doves; and the South Zone would run Sept. 20-Nov. 2, reopening Dec. 26-Jan. 20 with a 12 bird bag and not more than two white-tipped doves. Possession limit is twice the daily bag.

The Special South Texas Whitewing Zone, which now encompasses land west of I-35 and south of U. S. Highway 90, would open to white-winged dove afternoon-only (noon to sunset) hunting the first two Saturdays and Sundays in September and reopen Sept. 20-Nov. 2 and again from Dec. 26-Jan. 16. The daily bag limit is 12 birds, not more than four (4) mourning doves during the first two weekend splits and two (2) white-tipped doves.

In South Texas, a few hunters have requested more hunting opportunity in January. To accommodate this request, the department is proposing to move one week from the end of the first season segment (Nov. 3-9) and put it in January (Jan. 14-20). Quail and deer hunting would still be concurrent during either of these periods. The public is urged to provide public comment online at www.tpwd.state.tx.us/business/feedback/public_comment before June 26.

The early teal season is proposed tentatively for Sept. 13-28 if a 16-day season is granted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or Sept. 20-28 under a 9-day season framework. The daily bag limit for teal is four.

Suggested dates for ducks and geese were also presented to the Commission and simply reflected calendar adjustments from last year. Upon completion of breeding population surveys and development of harvest packages, dates will be refined and provided for public comment probably in late July or early August.

One change that was proposed is shifting the crane season one week later. By suggesting this change, the crane season will run one week later in Zones A and B, take advantage of the entire season length and close one week later. With this suggested change, the Light Goose Conservation Order will open a few days later than in past years in the west Goose Zone. Season dates for sandhill cranes are as follow:

• Zone A-Nov. 8 — Feb. 8. Bag Limit: 3
• Zone B: Nov. 28 — Feb. 8, Bag Limit: 3
• Zone C: Dec. 20 — Jan. 25, Bag Limit: 2

Proposed seasons for other game bird species include: Rail/gallinule Sept. 13-28 and Nov. 1-Dec. 24; snipe Nov. 1-Feb. 15; and woodcock Dec. 18-Jan. 31.

Adoption of the early migratory game bird seasons will take place later this summer as population and other data becomes available.

For nearly a year, a team of commercial swine and show pig producers, slaughter plant operators, veterinarians, hunters, hog trappers and wildlife biologists have wrestled with rule ideas that would prevent captured wild hogs from creating more chaos, while still giving hunters an opportunity to bag a boar trophy worth bragging rites. In mid-May, draft regulations were presented to commissioners for the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), the state’s livestock and poultry health regulatory agency. Public comment on the proposed rules, to be published in the Texas Register June 6, will be accepted by the TAHC through July 6.  TAHC commissioners will consider the rules for adoption at their next meeting on July 29 in Austin. “The 80th legislature, in the TAHC’s Sunset Bill, provided for the TAHC to regulate feral swine, which are regarded as free-ranging livestock. The TAHC regulations are to be limited to disease control purposes, including holding facilities, sale, exhibition, hunting or movement,” said Dr. Dee Ellis, Texas’ assistant state veterinarian and TAHC advisor to the feral swine working group. “If these proposed rules are adopted, they will supersede TAHC’s current feral swine regulations that aren’t comprehensive. We know we can’t get rid of feral swine, but we can find ways to deal with the animals so that it benefits all sectors of the industry.”  Dr. Ellis said the proposed regulations give trappers greater latitude for holding and moving trapped swine. Approved holding facilities and authorized hunting preserves would be sanctioned and inspected by the TAHC, and operators or owners would be required to keep records on the animals for at least five years. Applications for operating the holding facilities or hunting preserves will be available from the TAHC, if the regulations are adopted.

Since January 2006, the swine form of Brucellosis has been detected in 26 cattle in 19 herds.  Although the swine infection in cattle does not affect Texas’ hard-won ‘free’ status for cattle Brucellosis, it does cause positive test results when cattle are tested prior to sale. The bacteria must be “grown out” in the laboratory to differentiate between swine Brucellosis and cattle Brucellosis infection. In the meantime, cattle in the consignment or herd must be held up, and additional tests may be needed to ensure there is no cattle Brucellosis infection in the herd.  Feral swine also can have a health impact on noncommercial swine, which may be housed in facilities that are more likely to have feral swine contact than commercial swine facilities. Of the 41 noncommercial swine herds quarantined for swine Brucellosis infection since January 2003, 29 either had definite or possible contact with wild hogs.  “ ‘Contact with feral swine’ can be as simple as a wild sow or boar either being allowed  in, breaking into swine pens, or making contact through a fence,” noted Dr. Ellis. “Related contacts” can include an activity such as purchasing piglets from a producer who allows feral swine into his or her pens. In this case, a buyer could be purchasing piglets that have been exposed to disease carried by feral swine.

Dr. Ellis advised domestic swine owners to keep feral swine out of their pens. When purchasing replacement swine by private treaty, ask if the pigs have been exposed to feral swine. If possible, keep the animals isolated until tested for swine Brucellosis and pseudorabies. At livestock markets selling sexually intact swine six months of age or older, these tests are required, and blood samples are collected from the animals by TAHC personnel.  “Commercial swine herds are operated with great attention to biosecurity, and in Texas, these herds currently are swine Brucellosis and pseudorabies-free,” said Dr. Ellis. But each time we detect infection in a noncommercial herd, it puts a hardship on producers, because we must trace animal movement, test herds in a widespread area, and handle infected herds appropriately. Swine brucellosis also poses a significant public health threat to those handling or inadvertently producing infected animals. By adopting regulations that make it easier for trappers to remove feral swine from an area, and place boars and barrows only in a hunting facility, we encourage legal regulated movements of the animals and have less chance of disease transmission from these wild hogs. These proposed regulations can benefit swine producers, cattlemen, trappers and hunters, too.”