I may be misunderstanding this, Raimey, but how does bush hogging a drought ravaged corn field have anything to do with top sowing another crop like wheat?
I am well aware that top sowing is not an approved agricultural practice, in the game departments' eyes, having lived through that loophole in Georgia during the 1980's, but mowing down an unharvested, drought ravaged corn crop is absolutely an approved agricultural practice. It is common to do so, in order to do a better job of discing it or in order to no-till plant it next year. There is a huge difference between running up and down a field on a four-wheeler knocking off ears, and mowing it all down with a stalk chopper or mower. The Feds will not bother you on that, and they typically are harder to deal with than local wardens.
I farm for a living, and have planted, manipulated, and otherwise shot over crop fields all my life. I can even intentionally adjust my combine to leave more than usual on the ground and shoot over it legally. What I cannot do is take a crop out of the field (corn, peanuts, wheat, etc.) and then reintroduce it to the field. This constitutes baiting.
You may well have a game warden, or wardens, that are being overly strict in regards to this, but I cannot imagine Alabama's laws are any different from Georgia's on this, since doves are considered a migratory bird, and subject to federal regulations.
SRH
Last edited by Stan; 09/07/12 09:39 PM.
