Sugarcane around Kaplan.

[MarshRat89]

Seems like every year we are seeing more and more land going to sugarcane. I believe this will have negative long term effects on the waterfowl hunting in the area. Henry is a perfect example of this. Ducks and geese used to be plentiful in that area. Now if your not in the marsh or at least bordering the marsh don't even waste your time. What's y'all opinion??

[meaux fishing]

I was just thinking about this the other day... Cant be a good thing to lose duck habitat

[MarshRat89]

Bob your gonna have to get out of the cattle and start farming rice and crawfish to help supplement for the lost habitat lol

[Gottogo49]

Originally Posted by MarshRat89

Seems like every year we are seeing more and more land going to sugarcane. I believe this will have negative long term effects on the waterfowl hunting in the area. Henry is a perfect example of this. Ducks and geese used to be plentiful in that area. Now if your not in the marsh or at least bordering the marsh don't even waste your time. What's y'all opinion??

My buddy and I were having the same discussion. Even a fallow field will grow up in goat weeds and at least attract doves. A sugar cane field is a wildlife desert not a dessert.

[marshrunner757]

I killed my first duck 200yds from my house when I was about 9. Big ole drake pintail. Use to wait for the bus with a shotgun shooting geese. Not gonna say how long ago that was but now it's all a combination of houses and cow pastures where it used to be rice and soy beans. Lucky to hear a goose fly over anymore. I miss those days...

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[Chip Landry]

I feel the same way.. Sugar cane seems to be easier to farm with a larger profit, so more farmers are going that direction. My grand parents live between Kaplan and Cow Island so I grew up traveling from Scott to Kaplan often. Durning the winter we would go on 35 to see all the geese on the refuge and there was always some on the SE and SW corners of 700 and 35 but now it's cane fields on that intersection. It pisses my dad off every time we pass and there is a new cane field!!

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by Gottogo49

My buddy and I were having the same discussion. Even a fallow field will grow up in goat weeds and at least attract doves. A sugar cane field is a wildlife desert not a dessert.

Whenever I drive past cane fields, I usually see a few rabbits.

[meaux fishing]

Originally Posted by Chip Landry

I feel the same way.. Sugar cane seems to be easier to farm with a larger profit, so more farmers are going that direction. My grand parents live between Kaplan and Cow Island so I grew up traveling from Scott to Kaplan often. Durning the winter we would go on 35 to see all the geese on the refuge and there was always some on the SE and SW corners of 700 and 35 but now it's cane fields on that intersection. It pisses my dad off every time we pass and there is a new cane field!!

theres some new ones this year in the area for sure

[duck enticer]

Originally Posted by Gottogo49

My buddy and I were having the same discussion. Even a fallow field will grow up in goat weeds and at least attract doves. A sugar cane field is a wildlife desert not a dessert.

They do attract droves and droves of blackbirds.

[MarshRat89]

Originally Posted by meaux fishing

theres some new ones this year in the area for sure

Yep they planting right next to one of my dads crawfish ponds right now. That can't be good with all the chemicals they spray.

[Duck Butter]

Plenty of wildlife in sugarcane fields, one of the few places you can actually see quail

Also, plenty of chemicals used in rice farming as well, so the chemical comment is null and all those chemicals and wastewater gets drained off several times a year and goes right down the bayou, and they use a TON of water to pump those fields and many of them pump from groundwater = drinking water
And diesel prices to pump those fields is pretty high

Sugarcane farming seems a lot less intensive than rice

[MarshRat89]

Originally Posted by Duck Butter

Plenty of wildlife in sugarcane fields, one of the few places you can actually see quail

Also, plenty of chemicals used in rice farming as well, so the chemical comment is null and all those chemicals and wastewater gets drained off several times a year and goes right down the bayou, and they use a TON of water to pump those fields and many of them pump from groundwater = drinking water
And diesel prices to pump those fields is pretty high

Sugarcane farming seems a lot less intensive than rice

don't do any rice just crawfish. Not a chemical one in the ponds.

[Duck Butter]

Originally Posted by MarshRat89

don't do any rice just crawfish. Not a chemical one in the ponds.

Gotcha, was talking about rice fields

[swamp snorkler]

Originally Posted by MarshRat89

Yep they planting right next to one of my dads crawfish ponds right now. That can't be good with all the chemicals they spray.

I'm surronded by cane, they fertilize once a year and a few weeks before harvest the spray some chemical to almost kill it to make the sugar yeild go up. Chemicals cost and farmers aint down with spending a ton of money.

[MarshRat89]

Originally Posted by swamp snorkler

I'm surronded by cane, they fertilize once a year and a few weeks before harvest the spray some chemical to almost kill it to make the sugar yeild go up. Chemicals cost and farmers aint down with spending a ton of money.

Yep they spray it to imitate a freeze. If they do happen to get a hard freeze they don't have to.

[Quackhead62]

I have been hunting around Henry since I was a small kid and I can tell you first hand that the number of ducks that use to be in that area before all the cane started popping up to now are a lot diffrent. Still have some good hunts in the marsh if we get a cold enough winter

[Duck Butter]

Originally Posted by MarshRat89

Yep they spray it to imitate a freeze. If they do happen to get a hard freeze they don't have to.

you learn something new everyday, never knew dat

[Duck Butter]

Originally Posted by Quackhead62

I have been hunting around Henry since I was a small kid and I can tell you first hand that the number of ducks that use to be in that area before all the cane started popping up to now are a lot diffrent. Still have some good hunts in the marsh if we get a cold enough winter

Welcome aboard



You are gonna have some really good hunts dis year cher, we be hearing its gonna freeze soon

[MarshRat89]

Originally Posted by Quackhead62

I have been hunting around Henry since I was a small kid and I can tell you first hand that the number of ducks that use to be in that area before all the cane started popping up to now are a lot diffrent. Still have some good hunts in the marsh if we get a cold enough winter

We had a great season back there year before last.

[Quackhead62]

We always do pretty good the past 3-4 years have been really good for us hopefully it keeps going that way.