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Corn equals pheasants myth

by George Vandel, for the Sioux Falls Argus Leader

Recently, members of the South Dakota Corn Growers Association have made public comments stating that the pheasant population in the state is positively tied to and is in fact dependent on our corn acreage. Or, simply put, that "corn equals pheasants." They also claim that losses to our grassland acreage are minimal and will not negatively impact our pheasant population.

This rhetoric is totally false. Here are some corn and pheasant facts:

• Fact: Among the top corn-growing states in the nation, South Dakota is No. 6, annually producing 544.5 million bushels. Iowa is first, annually producing almost 2.37 billion bushels. Illinois is second, Nebraska third, Minnesota fourth and Indiana fifth.

If you apply the South Dakota Corn Growers' "corn equals pheasants" belief to these corn-production facts, and given that South Dakota recently has enjoyed almost 10 million pheasants, then Iowa should have 43.5 million pheasants, Illinois 42 million, Nebraska 27 million, Minnesota 21 million and Indiana 18 million. The reality is that pheasant hunters from these states come to South Dakota for birds because despite all their corn, these states don't have any pheasants.

• Fact: According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, South Dakota's corn acreage increased from 3.6 million acres in 1999 to 5 million acres in 2009 - a 10-year increase in corn acreage of 1.4 million acres. USDA also documented a loss of almost 50,000 acres of native prairie grassland per year during that same period.

Again, according to USDA, land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program - or CRP - declined from a high of almost 1.8 million acres to its present level of 1 million acres. And unless or until USDA changes its practices, our CRP acreage base will continue to decline. During the past 10 years when the loss of native prairie acres is combined with the loss of CRP acres, South Dakota has lost more than 1 million acres of grassland.

• Fact: One of the main factors causing the increase in corn acreage and a corresponding decrease in grass acreage in South Dakota is the increased demand for corn by the ethanol industry.

• Fact: The ethanol industry is heavily subsidized by taxpayers. It is subsidized at the distillery, at the pump and in the cornfield. The American taxpayer pays 45 cents per gallon to produce ethanol. We provide gas tax exemptions at the pump (the tax on gasoline is 22 cents per gallon vs. eight cents for ethanol). In addition, in South Dakota from 1995 to 2006 corn subsidies of almost $2.1 billion were paid to corn growers.

In South Dakota we generally don't mind that our taxes are used to support the corn/ethanol industry and our local corn producers. But, please, we deserve to be told the truth about all the costs involved, including the documented and factual loss of more than 1 million acres of grassland habitat and the negative impacts that this will have on our wildlife.

• Fact: Corn is not a pheasant-population limiting factor. Or put another way, if our corn acreage declines, we will not observe a similar decline in our pheasant population. Conversely, grass-nesting cover, especially the dense, undisturbed nesting habitat provided by CRP, is a documented pheasant-population limiting factor.

In South Dakota, ups and downs in our pheasant population are in direct proportion to increases or decreases in our idled grass (Soil Bank or CRP) acreage. As we lose grass, we observe a direct decline in our pheasant population as well as all of our grass-nesting prairie bird species.

• Fact: If you hunt pheasants in South Dakota or if you have a business that profits from pheasant hunting, you best get prepared for fewer pheasants as our grassland acres decline.

If you want to grow corn, ask the members and experts of the South Dakota Corn Growers Association. Past performance indicates that they are good at growing corn.

However, if you want to grow pheasants, ask the experts at the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks Wildlife Division. Likewise, history has shown that they know pheasants.