Hi everyone, Very, very well put Ken. It is indeed a significantly tricky balance. My partner and I are organic grain (and hay) farmers in the Ithaca area (~1400 acres, involving numerous large fields), who make our living 100% from farming. We would also consider ourselves bird enthusiasts, and regular birdwatchers, who do our best to be sensitive to environmental and biodiversity issues (part of the reason that we farm organically). Not only that, I own and ride horses. The Venn diagram in this case is profound!
But seriously, my point is to stress how well you expressed the various sides of the issue, and directed the passion that people are expressing toward having a positive impact. And that Thor and I are real-life, local farmers trying to do our best in this balancing act and are open to talking with anyone about these issues. We have a lot of experience with conservation programs in the Farm Bill (NRCS and FSA), and would be happy to talk with other farmers (or anyone) about them. You offered some great ways for individuals to have an input. One point that I would like to add to this discussion is the actual price of food. People want food that is inexpensive - and we should all be able to afford good, healthy food!! - but food that is produced in ways that incorporate conservation methods is probably going to cost more. How you shop and where you spend is one way that you can have an impact. So much to say about this. Feel free to get in touch! Appreciative of all the concern, Rachel and Thor ________________________________ From: bounce-125714663-81221...@list.cornell.edu <bounce-125714663-81221...@list.cornell.edu> on behalf of Kenneth V. Rosenberg <k...@cornell.edu> Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 11:32 PM To: Geo Kloppel <geoklop...@gmail.com>; CAYUGABIRDS-L <cayugabird...@list.cornell.edu> Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed. Hi everyone, Having fueled some of the passion about hay-cutting and grassland bird conservation, I wanted to clarify a few points. Thanks to the many who provided resources and links to additional information. I am not an expert on farming or legal issues, but I can provide a bit more perspective on the grassland bird issues. What is happening today has happened for decades and is standard agricultural practice over most of the eastern U.S. The challenges are complex, both for the farmers and those interested in conservation. Most importantly, it is not fair or correct to blame the local farmers, or even those at Cornell trying to manage the hayfields along Freese and Hanshaw Roads – these are indeed hayfields, grown for the horses at the Equine Research Lab, and the growers are under the same constraints regarding timing and nutritional value of the hay (the horses won’t eat it if it’s mowed too late). Individual farmers trying to eek out a living and keep their farms in production cannot be expected to sacrifice economically for the sake of birds or other wildlife – a common resource for us all. This is the fundamental problem. The solutions, therefore, need to come at the societal and policy levels. If more of society puts greater value on birds and other nature, then this can become part of the economic structure that supports both agriculture and biodiversity conservation. Much easier said than done! There is a complicated array of Farm Bill and other incentive programs that encourage farmers to create or set aside wildlife habitat, but these programs are obscure to most farmers – including the program managers at Cornell we met with last year. Here is a link to a guide that was just released about the latest Farm Bill programs: https://nabci-us.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/2018-2023-Farm-Bill-Guide-FINAL-LOW-RES-052621.pdf As Geo and others point out, the bird part is pretty well known and several good resources exist – the timing of breeding, safe dates for mowing, field size requirements for each species, preferred grass types, etc. The economic side is much more difficult, with pressures to produce on every acre and less and less room for nature in the agricultural matrix. And as Geo stated, without viable farming there would be no “grassland” or grassland birds in the Northeast. (the lost potential for managing state-owned lands for these disappearing species has also been noted). As for our local situation with the Cornell University fields, I was not quite correct to say earlier that the managers of these particular fields were not interested in conservation options – but they did not have the option to make those decisions and could not afford to make short-term changes in their management. This is where our local bird community can help – both in terms of providing specific information on the birds and guidelines for mowing, etc., but more importantly, to let the university and town leaders know that we value the birds and the habitats on these lands. As a land-grant university, and with the lead by-line on the Science article documenting the loss of 3 billion birds, it is not unreasonable to ask Cornell to be part of the solution -- finding ways that ensure agricultural productivity while helping to stem the plummeting populations of grassland birds. And it would be great for Cornell to model these solutions on its own extensive farmland. I hope some of the passion expressed today will have a positive impact. KEN Ken Rosenberg (he/him/his) Applied Conservation Scientist Cornell Lab of Ornithology American Bird Conservancy Fellow, Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future k...@cornell.edu<mailto:k...@cornell.edu> Wk: 607-254-2412 Cell: 607-342-4594 From: bounce-125714597-3493...@list.cornell.edu <bounce-125714597-3493...@list.cornell.edu> on behalf of Geo Kloppel <geoklop...@gmail.com> Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at 9:53 PM To: CAYUGABIRDS-L <cayugabird...@list.cornell.edu> Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed. I was about to say that anyone who wants to discuss the matter cogently with actual farmers and hayfield managers would do well to consult the Resources page on the Cayuga Bird Club website, where this link lives: * Cornell Cooperative Extension has published a very helpful document on Hayfield Management and Grassland Bird Conservation<http://www.nysenvirothon.net/Referencesandother/Hayfields_Grassland_Birds.pdf>. Alas! That link is broken. But here’s one that still works: https://www.nyfoa.org/application/files/6314/7948/6092/HayfieldsGrassland_Birds_3MB.pdf More generally, let’s remember that without field culture and haymaking, most of what we call grassland in this part of the country would revert to forest cover, where Bobolinks and Meadowlarks would not be found. -Geo Sent from my iPhone On Jun 15, 2021, at 6:07 PM, Sandy Podulka <s...@cornell.edu> wrote: Ken and all, Thank you so much for this clear, concise summary of this issue. I have some friends I am trying to convince to not mow too soon, so will use your words there, too. Can anyone tell me what is a "safe" date for mowing? Until when should I ask them to delay? Thanks, Sandy Podulka At 04:07 PM 6/15/2021, Kenneth V. Rosenberg wrote: Linda, thanks for bringing this mowing to everyone’s attention. In a nutshell, what is happening today in those fields, repeated over the entire U.S., is the primary cause of continued steep declines in Bobolink and other grassland bird populations. Last year, because of the delays in mowing due to Covid, the fields along Freeze and Hanshaw Roads were full of nesting birds, including many nesting Bobolinks that were actively feeding young in the nests at the end of June. In the first week of July, Cornell decided to mow all the fields. Jody Enck and I wrote letters and met with several folks at Cornell in the various departments in charge of managing those fields (Veterinary College, University Farm Services) – although they listened politely to our concerns for the birds, they went ahead and mowed that week as dozens of female bobolinks and other birds hovered helplessly over the tractors with bills filled food for their almost-fledged young. The same just happened over the past couple of days this year, only at an earlier stage in the nesting cycle – most birds probably have (had) recently hatched young in the nest. While mowing is occurring across the entire region as part of “normal” agricultural practices (with continued devastating consequences for field-nesting birds), the question is whether Cornell University needs to be contributing to this demise, while ostensibly supporting biodiversity conservation through other unrelated programs. Jody and I presented an alternative vision, where the considerable acres of fields owned by the university across Tompkins County could serve as a model for conserving populations of grassland birds, pollinators, and other biodiversity, but the people in charge of this management were not very interested in these options. And there we have it, a microcosm of the continental demise of grassland birds playing out in our own backyard, illustrating the extreme challenges of modern Ag practices that are totally incompatible with healthy bird populations. I urge CayugaBirders to make as much noise as possible, and maybe someone will listen. KEN Ken Rosenberg (he/him/his) Applied Conservation Scientist Cornell Lab of Ornithology American Bird Conservancy Fellow, Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future k...@cornell.edu<mailto:k...@cornell.edu> Wk: 607-254-2412 Cell: 607-342-4594 From: bounce-125714085-3493...@list.cornell.edu <bounce-125714085-3493...@list.cornell.edu> on behalf of Linda Orkin <wingmagi...@gmail.com> Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at 3:02 PM To: CAYUGABIRDS-L <cayugabird...@list.cornell.edu> Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed. After a couple year hiatus in which the Freese Road fields across from the gardens have been mowed late in the season allowing at least Bobolinks to be done with their nesting and for grassland birds to be lured into a false feeling of security so they have returned and I’ve counted three singing meadowlarks for the first time in years, Cornell has returned to early mowing there as of today. And so the mayhem ensues. How many more multitudes of birds will die before we believe our own eyes and ears. Mow the grass while it’s still nutritious but are we paying attention to who is being fed. Grass taken from the land to pass through animals and in that inefficient process turning to food for humans. 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