Seus Land Exchange Inc.

Our last blog post reported on the delicate issue of land conservation v. lowering the prices of commodities, and it got me thinking about how hunting, fishing, and sportsmen affect the economy.

After a little digging around I stumbled upon a news article that analyzes a report from The Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation that "spotlights the immense impact hunters and anglers have on the economy at the national and state level."

The report uses the results from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's 2006 Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation and statistics provided by the American Sportfishing Association and Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.

The numbers are pretty staggering.

• Sportsmen support as many jobs in Georgia as Delta Airlines and Hewlett Packard combined, two of the largest employers in the state (31,000 jobs).

• Annual spending by Georgia sportsmen is nearly four times more than the revenues of the Atlanta Hawks, Braves and Falcons ($1.8 billion vs. $460 million).

• Annual spending by Georgia sportsmen is more than the combined cash receipts for cotton, greenhouse/nursery, eggs, and cattle - the state's top agricultural commodities ($1.8 billion vs. $1.67 billion).

• Georgia sportsmen spend $207 million annually on outboard boats and engines to get out on the water and around the marshes for fishing and hunting.

• Georgia sportsmen could fill every seat at Atlanta Motor Speedway more than nine times (1.2 million vs. 124,000).

• If all hunters and anglers living in Georgia voted in the 2004 presidential election, they would have equaled 56% of the entire vote.

You can view your state's data by following this link the the reports' landing page.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that Ed Schafer, the United States agriculture secretary, decided that farmers will still be penalized if they plant crops on land set aside for conservation.

His decision was made based on improving harvest expectations for this year. Recent forecasts indicate that there will be a larger crop than was expected after the floods in the Midwest this June.

After the floods washed farm fields in the Midwest, bakers and livestock owners began to intensify the pressure to erase penalties for planting on lands designated for conservation. If bakers and livestock owners could increase the harvest it would lower high crop prices.

But Schafer says, "We don't feel that the corn and soybean crop will be as bad as we originally feared."

Director of agriculture conservation policy for Ducks Unlimited said, "The Conservation Reserve Program is the holy grail of conservation, and we are pleased that the U.S.D.A. will maintain the program and the benefits that it has had."

On the flip side many farmers believe that the penalty will hurt business owners and consumers who are struggling to pay higher prices for commodities and food.

Schafer did acknowledge that the situation is one that can change rapidly, and that he would reconsider his decision depending on crop conditions.

Labels: agriculture conservation policy, ducks unlimited, Ed Schafer, hunting land, land conservation, The Conservation Reserve Program

As gas prices and food costs continue to rise many people are investing in a garden.

A great way to learn about gardening is to visit The State Botanical Garden of Georgia. Check their Web site for events and classes. They have a great educational and social gathering series called Twilight Toasts--they "combine live music, horticultural information, wine tasting and hors d'oeuvres in a relaxed atmosphere within the Conservatory—the perfect evening event to meet your friends or make new friends!"

The next Twilight Toast will educate guests about herbs:

Thursday, July 24, 2008
6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Visitor Center & Conservatory
$10 Friends members/ $15 non-members

From the garden's Web site:

"Twilight Toasts just keeps getting better and better! If you haven’t tried Twilight Toasts yet, now’s the time to meet all of those who wouldn’t want to miss one! Twilight Toasts is an evening adult gathering in the Conservatory, with live music, light hors d’oeuvres and a wine tasting from Gosford Wine. Our horticultural segment this time will be an herb tasting, looking at fresh herbs and tasting herbed butters and oils on fresh bread from Big City Bread. Mmm…yum! You’ll find out exactly which herbs to add to your garden to harvest the flavors you enjoy. Call 706-542-1244 for tickets."

Labels: gardening, green thumb, herb gardens, outdoor activities, outdoors in Athens GA, state botanical garden of georgia, twilight toasts, vegetable gardens

Owning recreational property is not just a great investment because of the old saying, "buy land, they're not making it anymore," but it can also generate a secondary income like other vacation properties.

There are several property management sites that allow you to list your mountain house or beach home rental, and the same goes for hunting leases.

There are professional listing services that specialize in hunting leases. Making money by renting your land for recreational purposes is a great money making venture.

Land can be leased for other purposes besides hunting. The water sources on the hunting land can be leased for fishing, and the nearby land is probably is a great place for camping as well.

The benefits are numerous for landowners:

• Preservation of the land is facilitated by having it tied up in the lease. It will be protected from being converted to housing developments.

• The hunters' wildlife management programs reduce your crop damage.

• By having a professionally written hunting land lease it will include a release of liability clause.

• Leasing your recreational property will allow you to build relationships with other respectful hunters.

• Leases will also allow you to know who is on your land, and eliminate trespassing and poaching.

You can create a lease for as short or long as you prefer. Going through a professional service is recommended.

Professional Leasing Agencies:
Base Camp Leasing
National Hunting Leases
High Tech Redneck

Labels: hunting lease, land for lease, Land Investment, leasing hunting land, recreational leases

Everyone has an expertise, and that is the basis behind Instructables, The World's Largest Show and Tell.

This Instructable, from Progressive Farmer explains how to manage your farm and fish pond. It covers the basics, and gives you a good idea of a few things involved when considering a pond for your recreational property.

Here is the video-- with an outline and prompts at the bottom:




Introductions:

Dan Miller, Senior Editor of The Progressive Farmer Magazine
Terry Goldsby, from Aqua Services, Inc.

Building the Fish Pond-- :55

There is no recommended set size for any pond, but for bass under an acre is difficult to manage, but 2-3 acres is a good size.

Goldsby recommends not having cattails around the pond. They are weedy, and should be avoided.

Levee by the Pond-- 1:10

Here they are using compactable dirt to raise the water level, and for aesthetic reasons they are covering the aeration pipes.

Pond Slope-- 1:30

It is important for your slope to be steep. When the slope causes the pond to get deep quickly it prevents weed growth.

The Pond's Natural Water Source-- 1:51

It is important to be able to control your water source. In this case they have built a dam on an existing drainage ditch.

When you are able to control your water source you are able to control:

• weeds
• algae
  
• wild fish
• nutrients

You should also use a rain gauge in order to know how much the rain affects your water level.

Evaporation should also be a concern. You can lose 12 gallons/minute/acre, and that is up to 15,000 gallons of evaporation from every acre of pond a day.

The solution is to have an alternative water source like a well.

Fish Habitat-- 2:53

You can create spawning beds with pea gravel in a 10x10 square.

3:17-- Aeration systems are important to have in place in order to provide adequate oxygen for the fish.

3:34-- Fish Attractors

You can buy a fish attractor that acts as a fish's habitat or you can create them with trees and rocks.

3:52-- Natural fish attractors can also by cypress trees. They will grow in the water acting as a fish's natural habitat.

Stocking Fish-- 4:27

When stocking fish you need to form the basis of the food chain. In this case they stocked the pond with small blue gills and small shellcrackers six months before they put in the large mouth bass.

Feeding Fish-- 5:10

Getting an automatic fish feeder is a good idea. It is programmable and throws different quantities of food in at different times.

Labels: farm ponds, fish pond, Fish Ponds, fishing ponds, Land Management, pond, Pond Management, Ponds, recreational property, rual pond, rural property

Bill Dance Outdoors is a television series about fishing that is hosted by retired professional tournament angler Bill Dance. Wikipedia has a good summary of the show, but it airs on the Outdoor Life Network (now Versus).

The show has produced four volumes of DVDs that show bloopers and out-takes that have occurred during the filming of Bill Dance Outdoors.

In an effort to advertise and promote the DVDs, PRADCO outdoor brands has put a few of them on YouTube. These clips seriously make me laugh. Here are a few of my favorites:

Labels: fishing, fishing antics, fishing bloopers, fishing out takes, outdoor fishing