JOHNSON OUTLINES NEED FOR BETTER BLACKBIRD CONTROL

News Date February 04, 2008

       NASDA President and North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson says a comprehensive national management plan is needed to deal with the damage to crops and livestock caused by blackbirds and other wildlife.

       "Annual bird damage losses to all crops in this country exceeded $100 million in 2007 and will probably continue to rise," Johnson said January 29 in Nashville. "In the meantime, producers are caught in the middle while agencies disagree over research and management."

       Johnson spoke to a conference, "Managing Blackbirds, Starlings, and Corvids," sponsored by the Wildlife Services division of the Animal and Plant Health Protection Service. He told the conference that North Dakota sunflower production is especially hard hit by blackbird depredation.

       "Our sunflower damage likely exceeds $10 million annually," Johnson said. "Some fields can be 100 percent destroyed."

       Johnson said that in addition to comprehensive planning, more research is needed to develop control methods that are effective and environmentally sound.

       "We need to utilize all available damage control methods, including pyrotechnics, repellants and avicides where appropriate," he said. "This will require cooperative regional research and operational funding among state and federal agencies."

       Johnson also said that more should be done to educate the public about the need to control wildlife depredation. "Many people, especially those connected with wildlife and conservation groups, are still not convinced of the need to manage bird populations," he said.

       The two-day conference included presentations by various agricultural industries affected by blackbird depredation including sunflower, rice and fruit producers, dairies and feedlots, as well as research presentations on blackbirds. (Contact: Charlie Ingram)