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Dove hunting draws thousands o exans to the eld each year or the kicko o theannual all hunting season. o increase dove harvest, many hunters engage in preseasonscouting to determine yways and bird concentrations over natural eeding areas andwater sources. Over the past several years, decoys have become used more widely to enticebirds to y within shooting distance.Many hunters go to the extra eort o establishing crops in an attempt to create theideal dove hunting location. However, because it is the hunter who is responsible ordetermining whether a eld has been seeded legally, hunters need to know and make sureareas they hunt are in accordance with exas State and Federal laws prohibiting baiting.Hunters can also benet rom understanding ways that seed-bearing crops can be legally planted to attract doves.
Remember that the rules or hunting doves are not the same asor waterowl. Additional restrictions apply to waterowl hunting.
The problem: baiting
Doves are migratory birds, and dove hunting is thereore regulated by the FederalMigratory Bird reaty Act, which specically prohibits baiting. Under ederal law, baiting is
the direct or indirect placing, exposing, depositing,distributing, or scattering o salt, grain, or other eed thatcould serve as a lure or attraction or migratory game birdsto, on, or over any areas where hunters are attempting to takethem. [itle 50, Code o Federal Regulations, Part 20.11 (k)]
Further, the ederal law denes a baited area as:
. . . any area on which salt, grain, or other eed has beenplaced, exposed, deposited, distributed, or scattered, i thatsalt, grain, or other eed could serve as a lure or attractionor migratory game birds to, on, or over areas where huntersare attempting to take them. Any such area will remain abaited area or 10 days ollowing the complete removal o all such salt, grain, or other eed. [itle 50, Code o FederalRegulations, Part 20.11 (j)]
Larry A. Redmon and Jim C. Cathey*
* State Extension Forage Specialist and Extension Wildlie Specialist,The Texas A&M System
Normal Agricultural Operationsand Dove Hunting in Texas
E-5696/09
Figure 1. Doves are migratorybirds protected by the FederalMigratory Bird Treaty Act.
 
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The conusion: What are normal agriculturaloperations, and what is baiting?
Farmers and ranchers have adopted variousplanting strategies over the years, most with varyingdegrees o success. Some o these strategies, whileproviding acceptable stand establishment, may be viewed as an operation that leads to baiting o doves.Regarding what is to be considered a normalagricultural operation versus an operation designedsolely to bait birds, ederal law states:
In the course o normal arming and ranchingoperations, some agricultural seed is leexposed on the ground and can serve as “bait”or migratory birds, including doves. I seed isle out in the open as a “normal agriculturaloperation,” the law considers this acceptableto hunt over. A problem arises, however, asto what constitutes a “normal agriculturaloperation.”For the purpose o the Migratory Bird reaty Act “normal agricultural operation” meansa normal agricultural planting, harvesting,post-harvest manipulation, or agriculturalpractice, that is conducted in accordance withocial recommendations o State ExtensionSpecialists o the Cooperative State Research,Education, and Extension Service o the U.S.Department o Agriculture. [itle 50, Code o Federal Regulations, Part 20.11 (h)]
In exas, the ocial recommendations areproduced by the exas AgriLie Extension Service.Recommendations on planting practices that includesuggested species, planting methods, and plantingdates are based on data obtained rom exas AgriLieResearch scientists, exas AgriLie Extension Servicespecialists, and others. Although exas AgriLieExtension Service specialists do not dictate howarming operations are conducted, they do makerecommendations or practices that are designed tooer the greatest potential or establishment success.When it comes to establishing winter pastureor livestock, certain practices regarding plantingmethod and planting date have been used success-ully or several years. Notable among these practicesis that seed o small grains—such as wheat, oat, rye,barley, and triticale—should be incorporated into thesoil.Tis incorporation may be accomplished by usinga grain drill on either a prepared seedbed or by sod-seeding into a short, existing, warm-season perennialgrass sod. On a prepared seedbed, seed may bebroadcast and ollowed with either a light disking ordragging operation. Broadcast seed should be appliedat a somewhat higher seeding rate than with a drill.Annual ryegrass or orage legume seed may also be broadcast onto a prepared seedbed or intoan existing warm-season perennial grass sod. On aprepared seedbed, seed should be lightly harrowed ordragged, or a broadcast operation should be ollowedwith a cultipacker. I overseeding into a short,warm-season perennial grass sod, help ensure betterstand establishment by light disking either beore orimmediately afer seeding.I these recommended practices are used, a ewseeds will always be lef exposed, but as noted abovein the description o baiting, this is entirely legal.iming is also critical or the successulestablishment o winter pasture. Hunters shouldplant about 6 to 8 weeks beore the historical rstrost date. Planting earlier exposes the cool-seasonseedlings to adverse heat and possible drought withpotentially catastrophic eects.I the goal is to attract doves to ensure a goodhunting season, it is absolutely legal to establisha seed-bearing crop beore hunting season andmanipulate that eld in many ways that will attractlarge numbers o birds. Regarding this practice,ederal law states:
Normal agricultural planting, harvesting,or post-harvest manipulation means aplanting or harvesting undertaken or thepurpose o producing and gathering a crop, ormanipulation aer such harvest and removalo grain, that is conducted in accordance withocial recommendations o State ExtensionSpecialists o the Cooperative State Research,Education, and Extension Service o the U.S.Department o Agriculture. [itle 50, Code o Federal Regulations, Part 20.11 (g)]
Manipulation, as dened by ederal law is:
Te alteration o natural vegetation oragricultural crops by activities that include butare not limited to mowing, shredding, disking,rolling, chopping, trampling, attening,
 
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burning, or herbicide treatments. Te termmanipulation does not include the distributingor scattering o grain, seed, or other eed aerremoval rom or storage on the feld wheregrown. [itle 50, Code o Federal Regulations,Part 20.11 9(l)]
Beginning in March each year, various seed-bearing crops can be planted
or the sole purpose o attracting doves
(able 1). Also, beore dove season,strips or elds can be mowed or disked to attractbirds. Te strips or elds could be mowed at any timeduring the hunting season, i desired, to continue toscatter seed.Tis practice helps maintain an adequatepopulation o doves throughout the hunting season.Depending on the soil type, some seed-bearing cropsare better suited or certain areas than others.Tus, rather than participate in questionablewinter pasture establishment practices that may be viewed as baiting, you can legally use spring andsummer seed-bearing crops to provide the seed-bearing crops desired by doves.
Figure 2. Browntop millet is a seed-bearing crop that can beused to attract doves.Table 1. Seed-bearing crops or attracting doves.CropPlanting dateSeeding rate
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 (lb/ac)
Browntop milletMarchSeptember2030BuckwheatMarch4050Dove proso milletMarchSeptember2030German milletMarchAugust1520Grain sorghumAprilJune1020 Japanese milletMarchSeptember2030Partridge peaMarchSeptember 57Pearl milletAprilSeptember2530Sunfower(Peredovik)April1015WGF grain sorghumAprilJune 810White-grain miloAprilJune1020White proso milletMarchSeptember20–30
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Broadcast seeding rates. I drilled, reduced by 50–60%.
The hunter’s responsibility
It has ofen been stated that “ignorance o the lawis no excuse.” Tis is especially true or dove hunters.It is the responsibility o the individual hunter toknow the law and to be aware o the circumstancessurrounding each hunting opportunity.Federal law states that the hunter is responsibleor determining whether or not a eld is baited.Beore hunting, address the ollowing points to helpensure a legal hunt:Familiarize yoursel with ederal and statemigratory game bird hunting regulations.Ask the landowner, your host or guide, andyour hunting partners i the area has beenbaited.Suspect the presence o bait i you see doveseeding in a particular area in unusualconcentrations or displaying a lack o caution.Look or grain or other eed in the area. Is theseed there solely as the result o an allowednormal agricultural operation?Where crops have been manipulated orharvested, look or the presence o grain thatmay be unrelated to the manipulation orharvest.Look closely or seed and grain on preparedagricultural elds. Is the seed there solely asthe result o a normal agricultural planting oror agricultural soil erosion control?

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