Originally Posted by
15meter
Habitat loss in Michigan is the number 1 reason for declining small game numbers, and I suspect in most of country. 50 years ago virtually every farm had hay for livestock that didn't get cut the first time until early June when the pheasants, quail and rabbits were up and running. The few, as in 1 out of 25 farms that still have hay are taking the first cutting by the 10th of May where the haybine is picking up eggs nest and all.
Wheat and oats are virtually gone in Monroe county, 50 years ago it was probably 25% of the acreage. More habitat loss.
Now we have half the frontage sold off for "rural estates" every one has a dog and two cats all running loose because it's the country and it would be cruel to chain up the dog or keep the cats in the house. Talk about killing machines.
Driving down the local roads it was rare to see a hawk, to the point of commenting on it or stopping to watch it. You can't drive down a road now with out seeing them all the time.
Should I mention the dozen upon dozen nesting pairs of eagles that have returned in the last 15 years?
Or the osprey's? Or the packs of coyotes?
Those are all top of the food chain predators. If the chemicals were accumulating, they would be gone not increasing in numbers every year.
I don't know if the numbers still hold up, but farmers as a group were (or are still being) watched pretty close for signs of any spike in cancer rates. Ten or fifteen years ago, farmers as a group had slightly lower rates of cancer than the general population.
Personally, I don't have enough fight in me to literally have to fight for every bit of food and I firmly believe that is where we would be at if we got rid of all herbicides/insecticides.