Waterfowl Management

Farmers and deer managers alike will tell you that most weeds are bad. When it comes to waterfowl management, beneficial weeds in moist soil environments play a huge role in a duck’s diet. Providing these beneficial weeds is cost-effective because they are already found in the seed bank. With correctly timed soil disturbance and proper tillage, these weeds and grasses will spring to life and provide thousands of pounds of forage for wintering and migrating ducks. In all reality, you are farming for weeds. Correctly doing so prevents undesirable vegetation, but it requires knowing what to do in the given situation and when to do it.

We took The Firminator to uncharted ground in the duck capital of the world, which is home to some of the toughest soils in the country to manage. It proved to worked just as well in forested openings and wetland areas as it does in a one acre secluded food plot for deer in the Midwest. Instead of multiple passes and implements, it works the soil down with less passes and shorter time. Join Jody Pagan of 5 Oaks Wildlife Services and Tom James, creator of The Firminator, as they plant Golden Millet, and talk about soil disturbance in moist soil impoundments just ahead of Hurricane Isaac.