What’s New in Extension

A group of people looking at an impoundment.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service recently hosted the Bucks and Ducks workshop for deer and duck hunters. Participants hailed from Alcorn, Attala, Benton, Clay, DeSoto, Madison, Marshall, Pontotoc, Tate, and Tippah Counties.

New workshop shares deer, duck management strategies to prep for hunting season

Story by Leah Bowers | Photos by Kevin Hudson

Duck season in Mississippi begins tomorrow, Dec. 6. Deer season has already gotten started—bow season just finished up, youth season is in full swing, and rifle season is about to get started.

Are you ready?

Duck and deer hunters can rely on the Mississippi State University Extension Service for information on how to manage their favorite game species’ habitats, and Extension’s recent Bucks and Ducks workshop gave participants the latest research-based tools to maximize this season’s hunts.

Organized and led by the MSU Extension Gamebird Program, the MSU Deer Lab, and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, the new workshop was held in Marshall County at Spirit Hill Farm in Holly Springs.

Purple and yellow flowers in a field. — *Deer consume many different native Mississippi flowers and grasses.*

About 30 people attended, representing Alcorn, Attala, Benton, Clay, DeSoto, Madison, Marshall, Pontotoc, Tate, and Tippah Counties. In addition to Mississippi counties, people from Pike County, Alabama, and Wilson County, Tennessee, also came. Not only did these participants tour the farm’s wetland areas to learn how ducks use these habitats, but they also explored wildlife food plots to discover how they can support deer during nutritionally stressful times.

If you have duck-friendly habitat on your property, creating an impoundment will bring them, explained James Callicut, Extension waterfowl and upland gamebird specialist. If you install wood duck boxes, the ducks will come, but they’ll need cover to protect ducklings from predators.

When it comes to deer management, remember that food plots are a supplement and the priority should be on habitat management—the key to healthy deer herds, said Dr. Jacob Dykes, Extension wildlife specialist. A healthy deer population depends on access to a diverse diet of high-quality native plants, so managing the habitat to reduce undesirable species and promoting those beneficial to deer can make a big difference.

A person seated at a table examines several deer antlers. — *Participants engaged in a hands-on antler scoring and aging activity at the workshop.*

Landowners may be able to enroll in the Conservation Reserve Program, or CRP, and create wildlife habitats that will attract desirable game, according to Dr. Edward Entsminger, Extension associate. He introduced the MSU Precision Conservation Tool, a free resource to help landowners determine where implementing CRP can increase profitability.

Organizers thanked Sheryl Bowen, owner of Spirit Hill Farm, for hosting the workshop and for her longtime dedication to wildlife conservation and research.

CLICK HERE to learn more about the MSU Extension Gamebird Program, and HERE for the MSU Deer Lab.