No Colors

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I planted it a few yrs ago and they didn't dig up the 1st plant. They would eat some of the ones that I would dig up but none of the others.

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That's because if it's new to them, they don't know that the nut is even down there. It takes a few years of them training on it before they learn to eat it.

That being said, Chufa is not a particularly valuable food source. When I was growing up, it was all the rage over in AL. All the big landowners planted it. Now I don't know of anyone who does. The hogs being the biggest issue.

The argument was that Chufa was a replacement for acorns. So lots of people tried in in Lower Alabama pine barrens that basically had little or no acorn production. But eventually they figured out that turkeys don't need it. And you can create the same effect by just planting a few oak trees around your food plots and letting some natural oaks grow up in your SMZs.

It's funny to think about all the misinformation that surrounded wildlife management 30 years ago. And inevitably, some things we are doing now will be looked at as crazy and ignorant by our grandkids.

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By your definition of invasion, the USA is currently invading Ukraine.

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The difference being: Is the presence of foreign troops at the invitation of the internationally recognized government of the subject country?

Something something something eggs and omelettes????

The advice about the bushog is good. And that relates to deer the same as turkeys. Bushhogging promotes grasses. Disking and burning promote weeds and forbs.

The good news is that the same practices which benefit turkeys also benefit deer, rabbits, quail, butterfies, honey bees, songbirds, etc.

Plant food plots. Go clover wherever you can. Keep as much open ground as you can. Let it grow into heavy cover with weeds and vines. Then burn or disk every 2-3 years. Disk roads and turn rows. If you have a border between hardwoods and pines, thin it back so sunlight hits the ground. Then disk those openings as often as possible. Burn the pines whenever possible. Manage the timber aggressively to keep the timber thin with lots of sunlight reaching the forest floor. (I understand it's a lease and you aren't responsible for the timber).

But in general those are the things that will help your turkey population. Big clearcuts are bad. Closed canopy mature timber is bad. Lots of edge habitat, openings, borders, transition zones, and sunlight. Those are the keys.

And: 1300 acres is absolutely big enough to have resident turkeys that will stay on your property and flourish with the right habitat.

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Lumber is a BIG one. Their loggers get their stumpage for almost free from crown lands.

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I am in the lumber business so I am aware of this in great detail. We have had duties on their lumber for decades. And they have basically cut themselves out of business. They have already cut most of the easy timber that's within range of existing mills along the CN. And they are closing 8-10 sawmills a year.

I visited a mill in interior BC before Covid. And they were getting bug kill wood from 250 miles away. Even with zero stumpage that wood cost them more to harvest and deliver to the mill than SYP does in the South. And even with subsidized rail cars, they still have $100 mbf in transportation costs from interior Canada to Atlanta, Dallas, etc.

The mill I visited is permanently closed and the parent company is bankrupt. So their internal issues are putting them out faster than the tariffs are.

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Your post kinda smacks of “Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?”

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No. I was just genuinely curious about if there were other issues out there I wasn't familiar with. Like Oil and Gas, or fishing, or some Auto deals or something.

The issues I brough up are substantial. But they're not "bullet to the back of the head in the VIP box" issues. Seems like we could just address them with normal diplomacy.

I hear a lot of grandstanding and name calling and finger pointing on both sides. But the actual issues seem like they can be addressed without all the drama :dunno:

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Canadian men are the biggest pussies on the planet.

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I know some farmers, ranchers, and oil men from Alberta who would rip your dick off and cram it down your throat. The ones I know from out there are more cowboy than any American cowboy I've ever met.

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mass resistance to the federal government

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We tried that in 1861. Mixed reviews.

Josh Elander makes $150k a year at Tenner. Good young coach. Recruiting coordinator.

You guys could affordf to double his salary, throw in a used Ford Mustang, plus all the cheese he can eat.

How could he turn that down?

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Ole Miss is still our little brother so no need to panic yet..

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These are the melts I come here for. Delicious.

The biggest value item they purchase from us is soybeans/corn/wheat. And in the past decade they have been moving more to Brazil and Argentina for that.

They buy a decent amount of airplanes, and some semi conductors.

As a whole they don't buy much from us that they can't get somewhere else. It's really not about balancing the trade. That would be impossible.