How will the potential agriculture crop losses hurt future wild turkey populations?
Burk “Turkeys typically do not rely on agriculture crops, though obviously they will benefit from waste grain when it’s available. Turkeys eat such a wide variety of food that there are plenty of other options out there if the grain is not there. Turkey have enormous home ranges, and they’re going to find where the food is most available.” Neu “There are areas that were not flooded that are going to contain agriculture crops. It depends what comes back up in those fields when the water goes down. If the farmers plant some type of grain, such as wheat, there is still going to be some waste grain for food. If they leave them fallow, weeds and the associated insects can also be really a good source of food for turkeys.” Whittlesey “Waste grain is a component of winter survival for wild turkeys. However, there is so much land in crop production in the state of Iowa that crop losses shouldn’t have a real impact on turkeys. Wild turkeys are very adaptive and they will find a way to survive.
