Brian Klein oversees the Milton Farm for MacFarlane Pheasants, Inc. I recently asked him how ground cover did this year. He gave me some detailed information about how he plans ground cover to best benefit the pheasants kept in Milton. The crew decides which of the 6 covered pens on the Milton farm get planted and which ones grow naturally, each year. The decisions are based on when birds will go into the pens. Pens that receive birds before June 1st almost always go into pens that grow naturally. We would have to plant by April 15th to have a pen ready by June 1st. That is impossible in Wisconsin because it is just too cold at that time of year. Yet weeds like lamb’s quarter or ragweed germinate at the time and provide great early season cover.
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