The sea of native warm-season grass on Gene Cowherd’s Barry County farm is a reminder of a time when buffalo grazed tall prairie grasses. Cowherd’s first-year grasses stand more than 6 feet high with thick, green undergrowth. The grasses are part of a diverse grazing system that also includes alfalfa, Bermuda grass, orchardgrass, red clover, […]
Tag: Conservation
Missouri Department of Conservation reports final deer season totals
Missouri’s 2019-2020 deer hunting and fall archery turkey seasons ended Wednesday. The Missouri Department of Conservation reports a preliminary total deer harvest of 285,483. One hundred thirty-three thousand nine hundred fourteen were antlered bucks, 27,931 button bucks, and 123,638 does. Top harvest counties for the overall deer season were Franklin with 6,247 deer checked, Callaway […]
Several landowner meetings to be held in northern Missouri regarding Conservation Reserve Program
Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever, the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Farm Service Agency will host several landowner meetings in Missouri. Information will be presented showing the options of the Conservation Reserve Program and other conservation programs along with a highlight of updated rental rates at two meetings in the […]
Tina-Avalon FFA to host “Critter Hunt”
Tina-Avalon FFA will host a critter hunt as a fundraiser for the Washington Leadership Conference. Teams of three members should register at the Tina Community Hall on the evening of January 24th from 4 to 7 o’clock. Rules and points per critter will be texted that night at 7 o’clock. The critter hunt will be […]
Mercer woman injured in crash on Highway 65
The Highway Patrol reports a Mercer woman sustained minor injuries when a car attempted to make a U-turn in a private drive and was struck by a sport utility vehicle about three miles north of Princeton on Wednesday afternoon. Emergency medical services transported SUV driver Catherine Woodley to Wayne County Hospital in Corydon, Iowa. Twenty-nine-year-old […]
Farm Bill seminars to be held in Kirksville
The 2018 Farm Bill contains several new provisions that enable farmers and landowners to make decisions regarding their involvement in federal farm programs. University of Missouri Extension and USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) will host an educational meeting on Thursday, December 19th from 1:00 to 3:30 p.m. at the Missouri Department of Conservation Regional Office, […]
Deer hunters harvest more that 266,000 deer to date
Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation shows that deer hunters in Missouri harvested 10,543 deer during the antlerless portion of the fall firearms deer season Friday through Sunday. According to figures from the department, that’s four thousand more than the same period last year. Top harvest counties from the weekend were Callaway with […]
USDA resumes signups for Conservation Reserve Program
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced this week that it will resume signups for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) under both general and continuous enrollment beginning Monday, Dec. 9. Established in 1985, CRP is considered one of the nation’s most successful private lands conservation programs. The general signup is the first held since 2016 […]
Tour of habitat restoration project at Swan Lake scheduled for December 14th
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Ducks Unlimited, and Friends of Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge will host a tour of the wetland habitat restoration project area at the refuge south of Sumner. The public tour will begin at the Community Center on Main Street in Sumner on the afternoon of December 14th at […]
Operation Game Thief offering $20,000 reward for help with elk poaching cases
Missouri’s Operation Game Thief (OGT) is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the poacher/s that shot a female adult elk and left it for dead Nov. 18 on National Park Service property near the end of M Highway in Carter County. No meat or other parts of the animal were […]
Patrol reports nine people died in traffic crashes during this year’s Thanksgiving holiday counting period
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports nine people died in traffic crashes during this year’s Thanksgiving holiday counting period, from 6 p.m. Wednesday, November 27, 2019, through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, December 1, 2019. : Patrol’s Thanksgiving Holiday Traffic Statistics for 2019 Crashes ─ 404 Injuries ─ 166 Fatalities ─ 7 DWI ─ 94 Drug Arrests ─ 63 During the 2018 Thanksgiving […]
November firearms deer season ends with total harvest of 178,936
Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) shows that deer hunters in Missouri harvested 178,936 deer during the November portion of fall firearms deer season, Nov. 16- 26. Of the 178,936 deer harvested, 91,420 were antlered bucks, 17,237 were button bucks, and 70,279 were does. Top harvest counties were Franklin with 4,008 deer […]
Call to Missouri Department of Conservation’s Operation Game Thief leads to arrest
The Missouri Department of Conservation credits public cooperation, investigative work, and an anonymous tip for a major poaching arrest near the Lake of the Ozarks. Throughout the month of October, conservation agents who work the area near the Lake of the Ozarks responded to multiple complaints of dead deer with only the heads, tenderloins, and […]
Chillicothe FFA students participate in Fall Speaking Contest
Chillicothe FFA students recently participated in the Area II Fall Speaking Contest in Gallatin. Rachel Holt competed in the Missouri Farm Bureau Contest, Madelyn Wilford competed in the Missouri Pork Producers Contest, Abbey Hayen competed in the Missouri Institute of Cooperatives, Seth Hansen competed in the Missouri Teach Ag, Josh Eckert competed in the Missouri […]
Deer hunters reminded that they can “Share the Harvest”
Deer hunters across Missouri are reminded they can donate deer free of charge for inclusion in the “Share the Harvest” program of the Conservation Department. Donations of deer to approved facilities is free thanks to corporate sponsors that pay the deer processing fee. The program allows deer hunters to donate their extra venison to participating […]
Missouri Department of Conservation seeking public assistance regarding elk found shot and left for dead
The Missouri Department of Conservation is asking the public for information regarding a female adult elk found shot and left for dead Monday morning, November 18, on National Park Service property near the end of M Highway in Carter County. No meat or other parts of the animal were taken. By the time the dead […]
Hunters take nearly 89,000 deer on opening weekend
Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation shows that deer hunters in Missouri harvested 88,843 deer during the fall firearms deer season Saturday and Sunday. Of the total from this past weekend 51,086 were antlered bucks, 8,115 button bucks, and 29,642 does. Top harvest counties for opening weekend were Franklin with 2,078 deer checked, […]
Missouri Department of Conservation requiring mandatory CWD sampling as firearms deer season opens
With the November portion of Missouri’s fall firearms deer season opening Saturday, the Missouri Department of Conservation wants hunters, landowners, and others to know key information about chronic wasting disease, or CWD. MDC is continuing its efforts this fall and winter to limit the spread of CWD in Missouri deer by finding new cases and […]
Young hunters harvest 18,158 deer during youth portion of deer season
Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation shows that young hunters ages 6 through 15 harvested 18,158 deer during Missouri’s early youth portion of the 2019 deer hunting season Saturday and Sunday. The Missouri Department of Conservation reports the total is 4,500 more than the 2018 season of youth firearm deer season. Top harvest […]
Missouri Department of Conservation reports 1952 turkeys checked in during firearms season
Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation indicates hunters checked 1,952 turkeys during the fall firearms turkey season October 1st through 31st. Top harvest counties in the state were Crawford and Greene with 61 birds harvested in each. In the Green Hills area, the top harvest counties were Harrison with 22 and Daviess with […]