Cattle in Plots

[Mort]

Just quick question. Are farmers allowed to lease out their plots as pasture land for cattle and have it in plots at the same time?

Plots I hunted for deer this deer, the one section that didn't have cattle in it all year, had cattle in it yesteday when I went out looking for coyotes and the cattle tore it to shreds with manure everywhere, it was unreal.

 

[CrankB8]

I believe PLOTS stands for Private Land Open To Sportsmen. The landowner can do with that land what he pleases as long as he's paying taxes on it. I asked this question at one of the G&F Advisory Board Meetings. A quarter of land that is PLOTS not far from where I live is usually put into wheat ground. It's always worked and tilled by mid - late September. I asked why if it's allowed PLOTS can't it be left no till for later hunting opportunities. The answer was there was ample opportunity to hunt early season goose before it was tilled.

 

[m77hunter]

My cattle are grazing corn stalks on PLOTS land right now. It is still private land that the landowner can do as he pleases, but it must remain open to walking access hunting.

 

[Downrigger]

Plots is open for the landower to still use the land as they wish but open to public hunting. You can drive vehicles on plot land with landowner permission. The landowner has a few limitations from the last contract i read but not many as long as you allow access.

 

[Duckslayer100]

Landowners do need to qualify for the PLOTS program. If it's an ongoing issue, you can call G&F and let them know to reconsider next year. The only way they know if their investment is worthwhile or not is if Sportsmen call.

 

[guywhofishes]

Yeah - didn't take me long to realize that PLOTS is a crapshoot. I have LOL'd at some of the PLOTS land I drive by.

Kudos to the open access part and the owners who sign up, and some PLOTS is good stuff.

But some of it is so barren you ask yourself why NDGF would even bother with it when you see it. Seems like a genuine waste of paperwork and $$.

There are endless acres of barren fields with burned/mowed ditches in between in the RRV. They aren't posted because there's no reason to.

Why aren't they all in PLOTS if there's money in it?

 

[HammsRMK]

My cattle are grazing corn stalks on PLOTS land right now. It is still private land that the landowner can do as he pleases, but it must remain open to walking access hunting.

Not to make a stink here, but if you have cattle in it how can a guy hunt it? Your getting paid to have your cattle on your own land, unless you don't mind people shooting guns around them.

 

[guywhofishes]

What affect would a No Trespass bill have on the PLOTS program?

 

[Allen]

Not to make a stink here, but if you have cattle in it how can a guy hunt it? Your getting paid to have your cattle on your own land, unless you don't mind people shooting guns around them.

This is probably not the best way to think of it. The landowner here is being paid to allow hunting access to the land from the end of August until April of the next year. The cattle would be there anyway. Maybe it's a great spring goose field, or there are hills that grouse love, or the local watering hole provides a path from field to water to gravel for doves?


I get it, we all see PLOTS that make us scratch our collective heads. If you don't agree with the usefulness of a given parcel, feel free to voice your concerns with the NDGF.

 

[m77hunter]

In my case, I fenced the stalks on the south end of the quarter. There are trees and many cattail sloughs on on the north end, thats where all the habitat is, so that is not within the fence. There were people out there last weekend hunting pheasants, and it didn't seem to bother them.

 

[Allen]

What affect would a No Trespass bill have on the PLOTS program?

and from another post:

Why aren't they all in PLOTS if there's money in it?

1. I doubt it would have any direct effects, but it would certainly decrease the number of acres that landowners just leave out there for people to hunt without explicit permission. I can't imagine that many more would buy signs and post it as walk-in, or no permission needed. I have seen a few over the years, but that's not a very popular thing.

2. Because PLOTS is kind of like CRP. You pretty much have to "apply" to get a contract and since it's not a perfect program, I have to imagine that certain parts of the state will always be in higher demand based on habitat, desired species in that area, and other public hunting land availability. I'm clearly not an expert here but I do know the funds are limited and I'd have to imagine they have more acreage available if the money were there. Or some of the premium PLOTS that I enjoyed in years past would have paid enough to still be in PLOTS. I don't know the actual range of payment per acre, but I bet there's a huge difference across the state and the types of hunting the land supports.

 

[eyexer]

What affect would a No Trespass bill have on the PLOTS program?

that's a good question. I think that what sportsmen really need to do is get together and bring forth an initiated measure to prevent No Trespass Bill's from a possibility

 

[Allen]

that's a good question. I think that what sportsmen really need to do is get together and bring forth an initiated measure to prevent No Trespass Bill's from a possibility

That's going to piss off the ag commissioner.

 

[AR-15]

I guess for me, if there is cattle on it I would hunt someplace else

 

[guywhofishes]

If it's PLOTS they won't even look up if you empty your gun.

 

[Mort]

I'm not trying to start anything but holy cow...cattle do damage to the habitat, they smashed tall grass down like nothing, then shit everywhere, so how does that help the wildlife?

I,too, have seen PLOTS that literally have nothing to offer cover for wildlife, yet is in the PLOTS program, head scratchier.

I respect the farmers/ranchers, its their decision, but at the same time, the cattle actually ruin habitat, and that depends on how many cattle, so it makes no sense to put it in PLOTS or CRP. A tactic to get free money? I generally won't hunt around cattle unless the landowner gives me permission to do so, but the shooting window is pretty small. I've always heard the saying, you shoot it, you buy it. Hunting around cattle is good for coyote hunting I guess.

 

[Tymurrey]

Just speaking from my experiences and thoughts on the cattle grazing and helping wildlife. I have a quarter of pasture land mostly draws and native grassland that I was trying to establish more trees on. I was just hand planting clusters and wanted to give the trees a chance for the roots to take hold before I grazed it any. The first few years the pasture looked great, new grasses and forbs seemed to come back that I hadn't seen before. About the 4th year of no grazing the dead grass became to much. It was still good for wildlife as the cover was still there but presented a serious fire hazard. With the drought in 2017 I decided it was best to graze it before it burned and I lost everything. I had a family member bring in cattle late in about july and graze it heavy until November. The pasture looked tough afterwards, the brush was thin and there wasn't much tall grass to be found. This year it looked better than it did for the last 3 years. the trees did better not having to compete with the tall grass and without the thick dead mat of grass new growth did better this year. I'm going to try to implement about a 3 year grazing rotation.

As for PLOTS land the payments are not really that great, probably why you don't see much in prime habitat in PLOTS other than people who really don't care about hunting, but I think we will see less and less of that as hunting ground gets harder to find and more people offering to lease up good ground.

 

[Kurtr]

Not to make a stink here, but if you have cattle in it how can a guy hunt it? Your getting paid to have your cattle on your own land, unless you don't mind people shooting guns around them.

Dont shoot the cows you will be ok. I shot my deer with the cows watching from a hundred yards away this year. They chewed their grass and just hung out

 

[Retired Educator]

What is good hunting ground? A quarter of peas without a blade of grass more than 2 inches high will attract very few deer, but might be loaded with geese. Some plot land looks really good for pheasants but not so good for waterfowl. I cannot say for sure since I've never looked into the PLOTS program but have been told that the payment varies, dependent on the quality of the land for hunting. Cattle grazing and leaving cow manure might not look great but you will see birds scratching in cow piles, especially if the cows have been eating corn. Plus all that manure provides natural fertilizer for the ground in the future.

PLOTS might not be perfect, in fact the G&F will probably agree with that claim, but it's better than not having a program for the benefit of sportsman at all. One landowner told me "I don't make much money off the program but it pays the taxes."

 

[shorthairsrus]

Cattle sometimes push for a guy. I like em. A shorthair always becomes a buddy with em too.