By Rep. Paul Anderson
With the opening of the early goose season on Labor Day weekend, the geese around my farm in central Pope County did what they’ve done for several years now; namely, they disappear a few days before the season gets underway.
It’s like clockwork; the “honkers” return in early spring, lay their eggs and raise their brood, and eat conveniently located soybeans during summer months. When they are able to fly once again, they go out and glean area wheat fields after those acres are harvested. Then, for the most part, the birds leave. When this pattern was first noticed years ago, it could have been coincidence. But it’s happened every year since. Evidently, after cleaning up the wheat left by combines, they move on to other sources of food. It could be small grain fields further north where harvest is later, sweet corn fields in other areas of the state, or where ever there’s an available food source.
I visited with DNR officials a couple years ago, asking them about the possibility of an earlier season. I was basically told that setting seasons for waterfowl is more a federal matter, and the dates couldn’t be altered. However, visiting with an avid hunter at one of our county fairs this summer lent new light on the subject. He told of an early, resident-only season this year in both Dakotas, beginning in mid-August. The idea was to lower the number of resident geese, those who eat farmers’ crops all summer. The bag limit was high enough so that it could make a real difference.
I again contacted the DNR and, yes, they were aware of the early season in the Dakotas. And, according to Ed Boggess of the DNR, the west-central part of Minnesota is where most goose complaints were originating. He said they were working on an earlier season for our part of the state, possibly as soon as next year.
With the current high price of commodities, on average it would take just under two acres of destroyed soybeans to total around $1,000 in damages. Those kinds of losses have been occurring for years. And when the geese eat the young soybean plants, a patch of weeds usually grows up to take their place.
Enjoyed the field day Aug. 29 at the farm of Pete Ruegemer, located northeast of Villard. It’s truly a family operation, with several of Pete’s and Anita’s children now part of the operation. And what an impressive operation it is! The Ruegemers operate an organic farm, raising corn and alfalfa for their dairy operation, which is also organic. A new barn, put into service in March of last year, is home to their herd of approximately 130 cows and two robotic milking systems. Located side by side, the two systems clean the cows’ udders and complete the entire milking operation as the animals contentedly eat their feed. Identification tags around each cow’s neck tell the computer how much grain to be dished out at each milking and how many times a day each cow can be milked.
According to personnel on hand to explain the system’s operation, both robotic machines are “in action” over 80 percent of an average 24-hour period. And again, on average, each cow in the Ruegemer herd is milked 2.2 times per day.
Hope you had an enjoyable Labor Day holiday as we all enjoy what’s become known as the last weekend of the summer.
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