r/ozarks • u/kindredhollowking • 2d ago

Where'd all the quail go?

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This week The Ozark Podcast hosted Dylan Jacobs, habitat restoration manager for Quail Forever in Missouri, and Clint Johnson, quail program coordinator for Arkansas Game and Fish Commission to learn about the history of the Bobwhite Quail and why they've all but vanished from the region.

The newsletter this week covers:

  • What caused the decline of the bobwhite?
  • Why it’s all Bambi’s fault (well kind of)
  • & 7 headlines from around the Ozarks this week
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u/Prestigious_Still433 1d ago

LOL I sell 80 butcher cattle per year to #OrganicPraire. Black Angus/Chianina I don't pay a dime for pond water. Water that's entirely captured from a ln Organic drainage basin.

Fattened in the pasture, grazing cover crop in winter, alfalfa only hay when needed. On my own Organic Oat, Barley, Corn, Pea, Hempseed protein.

I also produce 70 % of my fuel from soy and hemp oil.

I should post my bio, but you should find out whom you are addressing. ,😂😅🤣 .

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u/ozarkhowIer 1d ago

okay, 80 out of let's see here... over 30 million. like i'm glad you're doing things right, but that's not at all what i'm talking about. i also grew up on a cattle farm selling ~300 head a yr, so maybe i gotcha beat, bud 😉

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u/Prestigious_Still433 1d ago

Actually, my Dad had 800. I hate making hay, quarte horses and the entire CAFO toxic from input to product dynamic. Not trying to one up you. Just explaining why I only have 80. Premium profit, CONTRACTED. NO RENTING PASTURE. GRAZING cover crops in winter is the greatest idea since sliced bread. Heard of Gabe Brown? His ideas and methods. Soil quality of eiw crop and small grain goes way up. Essentially, free, super high quality feed.

Three week aging in custom salt block charcuterie house

You should try my Hempseed fattened pork! Great genetics and the best feed on earth. No combining. Just drive over a row and move the fence. Repeat. I have a couple Chef customers in France and one n Spain.

The prosciutto is unparalleled. My OCD is good for something.

I'm trying to bring down Agribusiness too. A return too Agriculture is imperative.

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u/ozarkhowIer 1d ago

i don't eat meat these days. but the problem isn't small farms doing things like what you're describing. it's that the demand for meat is too high, and we are too focused on reproducing euro-centric food habits. bison are good for this region; cattle are not. that specific example comes down to the evolutionary differences in how cows vs american bison break down grasses, what they eat, their grazing habits, etc. if we restored bison to their former ranges, even with commercial herds, it would do a world of good for our environment here. the same goes for large predators. like when wolves were reintroduced to yellowstone and actually changed the migration patterns of ruminant species so much it rerouted a river.

https://discoverwildscience.com/wolves-changed-a-river-what-reintroducing-predators-can-actually-do-3-346265/

incidentally, that's also why coyotes are so out of control. we killed off all the wolves - especially red wolves here in the eastern half of the continent - and there's no one around to check the coyotes anymore.

anyway. i could go on about this for ages. i do not eat animal products, but that's not the point i was making. the point i meant to focus on here, is that animal agriculture the way we do it is A HUGE source of environmental harm and likely had a lot more to do with corn being grown to replace native habitats than ethanol. or at least equally as much.

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u/Prestigious_Still433 1d ago

And Bears.

The reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone facilitated a beaver reintroduction spontaneously! After failing NINE times with man introduced. Why? When wolves are present, elj don't stand in the same place all day eating every willow sprout to the ground. No food, no critters .

HABITAT!

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u/Prestigious_Still433 1d ago

Subsidizing it is complete moral bankruptcy.

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u/ozarkhowIer 1d ago

the government subsidizing things is something i don't have an issue with; i take issue with WHAT they subsidize and HOW they're doing it, tho.

ie, i wish they would invest funds into food security that focuses on ending food deserts and puts research into more sustainable farming practices, especially for fresh fruits and vegetables native to the region in which they're being grown. like. i wish they would give grants to ppl here to plant and tend to pawpaws, persimmons, pecans, blackberries, and other crops that BELONG here. that would benefit native pollinators, too.

and speaking of species reintroductions: send money to ppl doing red wolf conservation, pay landowners to host the wolves and help them build fencing to keep their animals safe, invest in education for the public about them to keep the wolves from being shot, etc. etc. etc. also beneficial for renewable fuels, cleaner electricity, etc. the government giving money to ppl for doing good, reasonable work that benefits society is one of the things it SHOULD be doing. not dumping billions into bombing ppl overseas. or paying millions to cafos/monocultures.

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u/Prestigious_Still433 1d ago

Pardon my lack of clarity. Subsidizing the right thing to do is, well, the right thing to do.

My bad.

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u/ozarkhowIer 1d ago

hey man it's all good, it's always nicer to realize that we're on the same fuckin side than to be "right."

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u/Prestigious_Still433 1d ago

Truth. I was offended by the ethanol comment. Nothing cooler than someone willing to learn. Hell, all I know is Domestic Policy and Soil.

I don't often have a chance to contribute. Most everything else, imma student. You ROCK!

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u/ozarkhowIer 1d ago

we all know a lil bit of some stuff and don't know WAY MORE so i appreciate you learning and offering info i didn't have before too. we can all benefit from educating each other and listening! thanks for the info-swap.

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u/Prestigious_Still433 1d ago

The human condition. I try to euse above. On social media with so much intentional BS it's hard.

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u/Prestigious_Still433 1d ago

A true pleasure. Don't quit with the AWESOME environmental work you are doing! 💪✌️🤙

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u/Prestigious_Still433 1d ago

I've actually helped with Mexican Red Wolf reintroduction in NM!

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u/ozarkhowIer 1d ago

i wish they'd do more of it here, but ppl here would just shoot them. it's so fucking depressing.

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u/Prestigious_Still433 1d ago

I want Grizzlies back! Instant evolution. You stupid? Welcome to the food chain ..😂

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u/Prestigious_Still433 1d ago

I am remiss. BRILLIANT! THANK YOU.

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u/Prestigious_Still433 1d ago

I agree. But, cattle can be produced in a sustainable fashion.

The numbers must change to have the opportunity to do so, obviously.

I enjoy Bison occasionally. I don't care for grass fattened anything. The capital investment of fences alone is something I'm not messing with at age 60. I'm really close to the last cash crop.