[AT] On losing farm land

pga2 at hot1.net pga2 at hot1.net
Mon Jun 7 13:27:49 PDT 2004


Same thing has been happening here in Texas for years. Down here,
most hunters lease land to hunt, or hunt their own land. The only
alternative is the TexasParks and Wildlife "Type II"land. This is
usually paper company land that has been cut over and is waiting
for the trees to regrow. It's good hunting property, but available
to the public, so there are sometimes problems with those "hunters"
that are less than ethical and safe. The permit costs less than $50
for a year and the TPWD publishes a book with maps to all the locations.

Phil

> 	This must be the time of the year for farm stories. In the
> local paper this morning is almost a half page article because of
> local farmers pissing and moaning over the loss of farm land they
> had been leasing from the County.
>
> 	It turns out that many years ago, the County "took" about
> 4000 acres of land to build a reservoir and after completion of it,
> has been leasing 1400 acres to local farmers. Up until a couple years
> ago, they were charging $3.50 an acre. They raised it to $7 and that
> was OK until they opened it for bids. Now, it seems that farmers are
> losing the land to hunters and others who are outbidding them.
>
> 	FWIW, this is pretty cheap for rented land around here. The
> regular price has been up over $50 an acre for a long time.
>
> 	The article didn't say how much the hunter groups and others
> (I think there was a mention of "off road" people) were paying but
> it seems to me that instead of whining about it, a smart farmer
> would be leasing the land and then sub-leasing to hunters. I think
> these guys would pay the same amount for land that was being farmed
> as they would for idle land. Local hunters are mostly deer hunters
> and they know that open fields have excellent edges all around them
> that make great hunting. Some local hunters would pay upwards of a
> thousand bucks a year to have a place to hunt because land in our
> area for hunting is just not available any more.
>
> 	Anyhow, this article caught my attention and I would be
> willing to bet the same thing is happening all over the country. I
> have to admit I would not pay to hunt as I am from the "old school"
> who hunted land that was open to hunt without paying but know lots
> of modern hunters do not mind paying. If I was a farmer with land
> that could be both farmed and hunted as a business, I think I would
> be looking for double income from it these days.
>
> Cecil
> --
> The nicest thing about telling the truth is you never have to wonder
> what you said.
>
> Cecil E Monson
> Lucille Hand-Monson
> Mountainville, New York   Just a little east of the North Pole
>
> Allis Chalmers tractors and equipment
>
> Free advice
>
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