Rice Farming

In the familiar nursery rhyme “Sing a Song of Sixpence,” two dozen blackbirds hide in a pie and burst out singing to swipe the nose of an unsuspecting servant. Any farmer who grows rice along a blackbird migration corridor probably is not surprised. Blackbirds are clever, sneaky and destructive, with a reputation that obviously dates back hundreds of years.

Blackbirds, whether actual blackbirds or black-colored bird species such as common grackles or brown-headed cowbirds, wreak havoc in rice regions. They can be seen flying in streams of millions across rice fields located near roosting sites, devouring newly planted seed in the spring or maturing rice grain in the fall. Many are migratory species, such as grackles and cowbirds, that move down to the South from Northern states during winter months, while others are resident blackbird populations, such as red-winged blackbirds.

John Cummings, a research wildlife biologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Wildlife Research Center in Fort Collins, Colo., says blackbird problems in rice have increased in some areas. This is largely due to a swell in overall numbers of blackbirds—particularly cowbird and grackle species.

Blackbirds annually cause an estimated $8 million in crop damage to the ratoon crop in Texas. And in Louisiana, annual losses have been estimated at between $3.5 million and $4 million to seeded rice in spring and ripening rice in the fall. Similar numbers have been reported in recently completed economic studies of other rice-producing states, including Arkansas, California and Missouri.

“In some areas, blackbird damage ranks right up there with insect pest damage losses,” Cummings says. “Some growers in some areas have it worse than others. Some growers can take a 100 percent loss, it just depends on where they are located, if they are next to a roosting area, or—as in Louisiana—if growers have to plant when there are still high levels of migrant birds around.”

In search of blackbird-control solutions
Cummings is the project leader for the USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service’ Wildlife Services program charged with resolving problems created by blackbirds in rice. His organization, supported by research funding from industry groups such as the Louisiana Rice Research Board and USA Rice Foundation, is seeking solutions to help growers reduce blackbird feeding and the resulting damage.

In the short term, the group has been granted permission to conduct a tightly controlled baiting program near roosting sites in Texas and Louisiana where blackbirds have been decimating rice fields. Ultimately, the group also hopes to help develop long-term strategies, such as an affordable seed treatment or spray-on repellent that will deter blackbird feeding on rice seed and grain.

Birds hit from multiple angles
Dwight Hardee, a rice grower in the Vermillion Parish of southwest Louisiana, says blackbirds have been a nemesis to his 600 acres of seed rice since he started farming in the mid-1970s—right about the time the insecticide Aldrin was discontinued on rice.

He says the birds not only directly hit yields in spring plantings, but also force him to make cultural decisions contrary to the best interest of the crop. Those included flooding early to discourage blackbird feeding and even delaying planting or sacrificing one field as a chum crop to keep the birds off the bulk of his rice acreage.

Johnny Saichuk, Extension rice specialist at the Louisiana State University AgCenter in Crowley, La., says Hardee’s situation is typical for many rice growers in the South.

“Right now (mid-March) we’ve got weather good enough for these guys to plant, but I’ve heard two different farmers say they did not want to plant right now because they don’t want to attract the blackbirds,” Saichuk says. “Nobody in those roosting areas wants to be the first field in because that’s where the blackbirds concentrate.”

Saichuk says the blackbirds are most devastating on seeded rice, but last year they even outwitted growers who thought their drilled rice would provide some protection. “The blackbirds quickly learned where the seedlings were coming up and went right down that drill row and ripped up large stretches of seedlings,” he says.

Areawide program focuses on short-term control
Until recently, like many other growers, Hardee’s only recourse for managing blackbirds was to keep the birds guessing with a rotation of propane cannons and shotgun blasts to alternately haze and pick off the birds one by one. Hardee now is part of the areawide baiting program administered in Louisiana by USDA/Wildlife Services and the LSU Extension service.

A similar program is also underway in Texas, where the agency has been granted experimental use of the toxicant DRC 1339 to bait blackbird roosting sites for a month during the winter in an effort to reduce local populations prior to planting.

While the baiting program has helped alleviate some of the blackbird pressures in his seeded rice, Hardee hopes the program ultimately will succeed in securing more long-term solutions such as the registration of an effective, affordable repellent.

“The shorter term solution is a repellent,” says Hardee. “It needs to be low cost—something in the $5 to $10 per acre range—and it needs to work. The long-term solution would be some kind of genetic control bred into the rice that makes it less appealing to blackbirds. That would be the ultimate.”

USDA and Extension researchers are busy testing a number of compounds for their effectiveness as blackbird repellents in newly planted rice and ripening rice. So far, none of the currently registered repellent compounds appears to effectively deter blackbirds. And while there are a number of experimental products that show promise, securing registration for those compounds has become a significant obstacle.

Experimental repellants look promising
Michael Avery, a project leader with the USDA’s National Wildlife Research Center in Gainesville, Fla., says until registration is granted for an effective repellent compound, growers will be forced to rely on planting schedules and vigilant hazing to minimize blackbird damage.

“We have no chemical repellent that we know is effective and registered,” Avery says. “The problem we’ve encountered is not that we can’t find chemicals that will repel the birds, it’s getting products registered.”

The agency is looking at a number of experimental compounds, including the active ingredient anthraquinone, which is already registered under the name Flight Control as a repellent for Canada geese and other birds in turfgrass. The manufacturer is currently completing a data package in pursuit of an experiment use permit for registration of Flight Control in rice.

“We’ve worked with the manufacturer of Flight Control for two years and the compound looks very effective on seeded rice,” adds Cummings. “The only thing we’re up against right now is trying to get EPA to approve it.”

Ideally, Avery says, the long-lasting repellent could be applied as a seed treatment or to ripening grains in the field after rice has headed out prior to harvest. USDA also will continue field trials on currently registered rice compounds, such as insecticides and fungicides, which might double as a repellent to blackbirds.

For questions or comments, contact Rice Farming editor Vicky Boyd at (209) 571-0414 or vlboyd@att.net.

Hotlink:

For more information on the USDA’s blackbird control efforts or for assistance in managing blackbird problems in the field, log on to http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ws/.

Nothing to sing about Industry struggles to find solutions to costly blackbird problems
By Marni Katz
In the familiar nursery rhyme “Sing a Song of Sixpence,” two dozen blackbirds hide in a pie and burst out singing to swipe the nose of an unsuspecting servant. Any farmer who grows rice along a blackbird migration corridor probably is not surprised. Blackbirds are clever, sneaky and destructive, with a reputation that obviously dates back hundreds of years. Blackbirds, whether actual blackbirds or black-colored bird species such as common grackles or brown-headed cowbirds, wreak havoc in rice regions. They can be seen flying in streams of millions across rice fields located near roosting sites, devouring newly planted seed in the spring or maturing rice grain in the fall. Many are migratory species, such as grackles and cowbirds, that move down to the South from Northern states during winter months, while others are resident blackbird populations, such as red-winged blackbirds. John Cummings, a research wildlife biologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Wildlife Research Center in Fort Collins, Colo., says blackbird problems in rice have increased in some areas. This is largely due to a swell in overall numbers of blackbirds—particularly cowbird and grackle species. Blackbirds annually cause an estimated $8 million in crop damage to the ratoon crop in Texas. And in Louisiana, annual losses have been estimated at between $3.5 million and $4 million to seeded rice in spring and ripening rice in the fall. Similar numbers have been reported in recently completed economic studies of other rice-producing states, including Arkansas, California and Missouri. “In some areas, blackbird damage ranks right up there with insect pest damage losses,” Cummings says. “Some growers in some areas have it worse than others. Some growers can take a 100 percent loss, it just depends on where they are located, if they are next to a roosting area, or—as in Louisiana—if growers have to plant when there are still high levels of migrant birds around.” In search of blackbird-control solutions Cummings is the project leader for the USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service’ Wildlife Services program charged with resolving problems created by blackbirds in rice. His organization, supported by research funding from industry groups such as the Louisiana Rice Research Board and USA Rice Foundation, is seeking solutions to help growers reduce blackbird feeding and the resulting damage. In the short term, the group has been granted permission to conduct a tightly controlled baiting program near roosting sites in Texas and Louisiana where blackbirds have been decimating rice fields. Ultimately, the group also hopes to help develop long-term strategies, such as an affordable seed treatment or spray-on repellent that will deter blackbird feeding on rice seed and grain. Birds hit from multiple angles Dwight Hardee, a rice grower in the Vermillion Parish of southwest Louisiana, says blackbirds have been a nemesis to his 600 acres of seed rice since he started farming in the mid-1970s—right about the time the insecticide Aldrin was discontinued on rice. He says the birds not only directly hit yields in spring plantings, but also force him to make cultural decisions contrary to the best interest of the crop. Those included flooding early to discourage blackbird feeding and even delaying planting or sacrificing one field as a chum crop to keep the birds off the bulk of his rice acreage. Johnny Saichuk, Extension rice specialist at the Louisiana State University AgCenter in Crowley, La., says Hardee’s situation is typical for many rice growers in the South. “Right now (mid-March) we’ve got weather good enough for these guys to plant, but I’ve heard two different farmers say they did not want to plant right now because they don’t want to attract the blackbirds,” Saichuk says. “Nobody in those roosting areas wants to be the first field in because that’s where the blackbirds concentrate.” Saichuk says the blackbirds are most devastating on seeded rice, but last year they even outwitted growers who thought their drilled rice would provide some protection. “The blackbirds quickly learned where the seedlings were coming up and went right down that drill row and ripped up large stretches of seedlings,” he says. Areawide program focuses on short-term control Until recently, like many other growers, Hardee’s only recourse for managing blackbirds was to keep the birds guessing with a rotation of propane cannons and shotgun blasts to alternately haze and pick off the birds one by one. Hardee now is part of the areawide baiting program administered in Louisiana by USDA/Wildlife Services and the LSU Extension service. A similar program is also underway in Texas, where the agency has been granted experimental use of the toxicant DRC 1339 to bait blackbird roosting sites for a month during the winter in an effort to reduce local populations prior to planting. While the baiting program has helped alleviate some of the blackbird pressures in his seeded rice, Hardee hopes the program ultimately will succeed in securing more long-term solutions such as the registration of an effective, affordable repellent. “The shorter term solution is a repellent,” says Hardee. “It needs to be low cost—something in the $5 to $10 per acre range—and it needs to work. The long-term solution would be some kind of genetic control bred into the rice that makes it less appealing to blackbirds. That would be the ultimate.” USDA and Extension researchers are busy testing a number of compounds for their effectiveness as blackbird repellents in newly planted rice and ripening rice. So far, none of the currently registered repellent compounds appears to effectively deter blackbirds. And while there are a number of experimental products that show promise, securing registration for those compounds has become a significant obstacle. Experimental repellants look promising Michael Avery, a project leader with the USDA’s National Wildlife Research Center in Gainesville, Fla., says until registration is granted for an effective repellent compound, growers will be forced to rely on planting schedules and vigilant hazing to minimize blackbird damage. “We have no chemical repellent that we know is effective and registered,” Avery says. “The problem we’ve encountered is not that we can’t find chemicals that will repel the birds, it’s getting products registered.” The agency is looking at a number of experimental compounds, including the active ingredient anthraquinone, which is already registered under the name Flight Control as a repellent for Canada geese and other birds in turfgrass. The manufacturer is currently completing a data package in pursuit of an experiment use permit for registration of Flight Control in rice. “We’ve worked with the manufacturer of Flight Control for two years and the compound looks very effective on seeded rice,” adds Cummings. “The only thing we’re up against right now is trying to get EPA to approve it.” Ideally, Avery says, the long-lasting repellent could be applied as a seed treatment or to ripening grains in the field after rice has headed out prior to harvest. USDA also will continue field trials on currently registered rice compounds, such as insecticides and fungicides, which might double as a repellent to blackbirds. For questions or comments, contact Rice Farming editor Vicky Boyd at (209) 571-0414 or vlboyd@att.net. Hotlink: For more information on the USDA’s blackbird control efforts or for assistance in managing blackbird problems in the field, log on to http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ws/.
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