Michigan's DNR now regulating farming.

Something to think about. Pigs today. What next.


In a brazen power grab threatening the livelihood of hundreds of small farmers, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is using the state Invasive Species Act to expand its jurisdiction beyond hunting and fishing to farming operations. On April 1, 2012 an Invasive Species Order (ISO) that DNR issued in December 2010 prohibiting the possession of a number of different types breeds of swine will go into effect.

http://www.farmtoconsumer.org/michi...mpaign=Digest+2012-03-15&utm_medium=email

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I don't have a dog in this hunt , but it would be interesting to see how the farmers from far down south feel about feral hogs and crops.

Been reading, those who get damages from feral hogs thing it's a good idea; those who live in a double wide with 10 hogs roaming free as the meal ticket are quite up in arms.....

--->Paul

Feral hogs down here in Texas are shot on site. We have contest to see who can kill the most. They do millions in damage a year. They are a major pest.Some do kill and eat them.

If someone had done a better job of regulating fish farming along the Mississippi, we wouldn't be facing the prospect of Asian carp wiping out the Great Lakes fisheries.

Want a few more examples?
Zebra mussels
Emerald Ash Borer
Russian Thistle
Burmese pythons
Kudzu
Phragmites

The list goes on. Why should farmers be allowed to raise species in Michigan that have already proven to be a huge problem elsewhere?

We already have too many invasive species here in Michigan. Pigs are just too destructive to let run wild. And they are not a native species!!!

DON'T make a fool of yourself over something you don't know anything about! Those hogs will be the END of agriculture in Michigan if we allow them in. The end. They WILL be shot on site even on private land. PERIOD!

Anyway,now that the adrenaline isn't running so much,this isn't a regulation adopted by the DNR,it's STATE LAW passed by the Legislature and signed in to law by the Governor. The DNR is just the agency that will enforce the law. Them and anybody with a gun and an interest in agriculture in this state. Kevin Daley,chairman of the House Ag Committee deserves a huge pat on the back for getting this done. Unlike that idiot Huckleberry who was the chair. His answer to the whole thing was to pass a law that allowed anybody with a hunting license to shoot one if they saw it running loose. BIG DEAL!

I'd add one HUGE thing to MarkBs list. The TB issue that started in the deer herd. That's still claiming entire herds of cattle and causing grief and expense to cattle owners in the northest lower. All of those infected deer were confined to a private hunting preserve at one time,just like these hogs claim to be. That entire mess could have been cleaned up in 24 hours,but the preserve was owned by several lawyers. The rest,as they say,is history.

I'm in SC. I don't have any wild hogs yet, but they are near. There is no up side to having wild hogs around. I hear rumors of hunter releasing them, but wisely enough no one has admitted it. It's a moot question anyway since hogs are coming in from other states and spreading from where they were in SC. There have been wild hogs for years in the swampy area of the eastern part of the state. During the great Depression a lot of game was killed off by hungry people and if people then had seen hog tracks they would have looked on it as a meal ticket.

Yes, we have Kudzu and it is a problem, but not the worst. If it can be fenced in, livestock makes short work of it. Strangely enough, deer(which is the worst invasive species in this area) don't seem to care for kudzu. This past year a new invasive species called the kudzu bug came in the area and does like kudzu don't know if it will make an impression on the kudzu, but the concern is that it will like soybeans and garden crops also. I have seen the bugs out already and this coming summer should tell us how bad they will be.

Oh, forget managing kudzu for hay. The leaves dry and crumble up before the vine is dry enough to bale. You can get one cutting of kudzu in the early summer and another in the fall. No big yield either time. It's very nutrious and you could let it grow all summer, then put cows on it in the fall for 2-3 weeks, then sell the cows

KEH

In Northern Ky. we have an invasive species called Japanese Honeysuckle. It is a woody bush that grows fast, either in sun or extreme shade in old growth woods. Three or four feet/year. Spraying is effective, but expensive. Ellis

It is good they are taking a proactive role. We are finding more
issue with invasive species all the time.

When I started this thread it didn't dawn on me that everyone would assume this farmer was raising wild boar or was involved somehow with a game farm. This guy is a family farmer raising high end pork on a small scale. He has nothing to do with game farms or wild boar.

If I had entitled the thread "ANOTHER TAX" it is now clear to me I would have steered the conversation in an anti-tax direction. I don't think any of you guys are in favor of more taxes.

DNR has cleverly characterized this issue as one about feral hogs which it is not. No one wants more feral hog damage, especially not me. I do however believe in the family farmer and his right to make a living. Pigs of any breed are not native; nor are cattle or chickens. Its just a matter of time before some bureaucrat decides your chicken or tomato is not native, that it threatens a factory farm and is therefore an invasive species. Pretty clever when you start to think about it.

Yes, the Michigan legislature wrote the law. However, they didn't define the term feral hog. That's left up to the DNR. You and I know what a feral hog looks like and know he's not raised in a pasture. Tomorrow another breed of pig will be placed on their list of feral hogs and that it will be, whether it makes sense or not.


We've had feral hogs as long as I can remember. They are now damaging our crops and those of other farmers. When I was a kid, the farmers and ranchers used to shoot them and pig hunting was a sport. Pigs were kept in check and stayed in the hills. Sometime in the last 25 years, the State ran the ranchers out of business and bought up their land. Now the State spends large sums of money to trap feral hogs on State park land and hunting has pretty much been eliminated now that the private ranch has become a public park. The pig population has exploded and they're not living in the hills anymore. They're down feeding on the farms. So, before you guys congratulate DNR on a job well done, ask yourself, how is destroying a family farmer raising heritage hogs in a pen that are destined for his smokehouse going to decrease the feral hog population in MI.

They were VERY careful when they wrote this law to make it specific to one narrow line of genetics specific to truly wild hogs,the kind that they're having all the trouble with in the south. If you believe otherwise,you're about to make me believe that Hannity or Beck are behind the hysteria that has you in it's grip.

The problems in the south are not specific to one genetic breed of wild boar. The issue is with wild pigs in general. It's not uncommon to go into the woods and find hogs of all colors and physical features, not just the piney woods rooters.

Check Break is right, asinine laws are not required and will do nothing but hurt the common farmer in the process. Fewer laws and restrictions are needed, not more. A "kill 'em all, shoot on sight" year round widely disseminated policy for private land owners and hunting license holders is all that's necessary. You are never going to be able to eradicate the whole wild hog population, and a piece of legislation not going to turn them around at the state line because hogs are now banned in the state of Michigan.

It is funny that you mention Pythons.
A woman (who is a loser) that used to work with my wife had a python. She and her husband would allow this thing to slither around in her yard. The potential liability if the snake eats a kid or even a dog would be very high. It amazes me that some people will actually get exotic dangerous animals for pets.....Like Alligators, large snakes, bobcat....WTF is a matter with these idiots.?

(quoted from post at 12:52:38 03/16/12) They were VERY careful when they wrote this law to make it specific to one narrow line of genetics specific to truly wild hogs,the kind that they're having all the trouble with in the south. If you believe otherwise,you're about to make me believe that Hannity or Beck are behind the hysteria that has you in it's grip.

Click to expand...

I'm confused about the Hannity/Beck reference. I don't watch either of them but maybe I'll figure it out.

In any event, there is no line of genetics specific to wild hogs. If you have info showing otherwise I'd like to see it. This goes against everything I've ever read or know first hand about wild pigs.

It sounds like you know who "they" are in reference to the folks who wrote the law. Who are "they". Help me out. I think I missed something. Why are "they" enacting laws in MI to eliminate a problem with wild pigs that are causing damage in the South.

Maybe I'am wrong on this,but this law isn't going to affect the genuine hog farmer,but is going to play heck with these WANTTOBES and their exotic breeds and their ponzi schemes.Someone gets tired or not making the return they were promised or hoped for,next thing you know,they turn whatever loose.
Then you have the Python deal,horses,dogs,cats,any number of other dumpings.

I think Michiganders need to put a ballot initiative on this fall's ballot declaring DNR
agents an invasive species. If we want to get
technical hogs, cows, horses, sheep, doge cats and
goats are NOT native to most of North America, I
smell PETA trying to make sure I can't enjoy a
stake or nice rack of Barbecue ribs. I realize
that hogs are a problem in parts of the country
and like an invasive species they will drive out
native species and change our ecostructure. Has
other posts have eluded efforts to re-naturalize
areas that were previously farmed provide habitat
for native and non native species. Unfortunately
the answer is to HUNT the invasives, but hunting
is not politically correct so the obstructive
minority will block any attempt to use hunting to
control invasive species. Their political
objective is to eliminate hunting, they can't
allow any situation to develop that shows that
hunting is useful and NOT damaging to the
environment and thus weakens their case to
eliminate it. But these are the same people that
refuse to admit that wide spread fires across
northern Michigan and Wisconsin were normal and
required to keep those ecosystems in a natural
balance. Not that I advocate burning these areas
down but careful forestry practices including
timber harvest can replace the burning needed to
keep our Northern forest healthy.