Friday, December 18, 2009


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Farm & Outooors


Madison Enterprise-Recorder 13A


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 1664 BCT Gin Road Quitman, Georgia 31643
 Bobwhite Quail:
Eggs Chicks Early Release


 Southern States

 Strives To Make

 The "Best"


 Even Better

 Southern States' feed mills have been selected
by the American Feed Industry as the best mills in
the nation for two of the last three years. Despite
these industry-wide accolades, Southern States con-
tinues to improve their mill capabilities, with the
goal of manufacturing the very finest quality feeds
available.
 Recently, Jim Moore, Southern States' Feed Di-
vision Vice President announced additional up-
grades to their Valdosta, Georgia Feed Mill,
manufacturers of Southern States brand bagged pet
foods, Southern States Legends equine feeds and a
number of Southern States livestock feeds. The Val-
dosta mill serves the company's southern territory
with primary distribution in Alabama, Florida,
Georgia, and South Carolina.
 A new Screening System and two new Tender
Blenders have been added to the production process
along with upgraded automation, to control liquid
and dry ingredient measurement and product moni-
toring. These additions combine to enhance the con-
sistency and appearance of the bagged feeds
produced by the Valdosta mill.
 "We've been making feeds at Southern States for
more than 80 years," said Moore, "and we know that
keeping up with technology is a key to giving our
customers the superior quality feeds they have come
to expect from us."
 All Southern States feed mills are HACCP (Haz-
ard Analysis and Critical Control Point) certified,
an international program developed primarily for
the food industry, designed to ensure the safety of all
food and feed products.
 Moore went on to explain, "For us, HACCP is
more than just a certification...it's a value. We want
our customers to have full confidence in choosing
Southern States as their feed company, and that's
why the addition of this new equipment is so im-
portant to us."
 Established in 1923, Southern States has more
than 300,000 farmer-members. As one of the nation's
largest agricultural cooperatives, the Richmond,
Virginia-based firm provides a wide range of farm
inputs, including fertilizer, seed, livestock feed and
pet food, animal health supplies and petroleum
products, as well as other items for the farm and
home. The Cooperative serves its members and non-
member customers through some 1,200 retail outlets
in the eastern U.S. Visit our website,
www.southernstates.com for more information.


 One of the many
benefits of living in
Florida is enjoying the
vast variety of wildlife.
Bald eagles are a routine
sight now over much of
the state; black bears
have made a major
resurgence and are
everywhere now it
seems; species such as
deer and wild turkey are
common and so are
many others.
 One species you
may miss that's migrat-
ing into the state now is
the white pelican. A few
days ago Lynn Haven
resident Diane Ramsey
captured a flock on cam-
era as the birds rested
on North Bay near
Panama City. Just like a
variety of other migra-
tory species, white peli-
cans leave their
summer homes in the
West and Midwest and
head south as winter
approaches.
 While our common
brown pelican has a 612
- 7/2-foot wing span,
white pelicans have a
much larger wing span,
stretching as much as
912 feet as they fly White
pelicans are also sub-
stantially larger, weigh-
ing up to 17 pounds.
Brown pelicans rarely
weigh more than four
pounds.
 Stephen Nesbitt
spent 35 years working
as a wildlife biologist
with the Florida Fish
and Wildlife Conserva-


 The capture of a 12-
foot-long Burmese python a
week ago from a lawn in
Port of Tampa was the "last
straw" for many reptile
owners. Spurred by more
negative publicity of a
Burmese python on the
loose, several dozen reptile
owners have come together
to offer a reward for infor-
mation leading to the arrest
and conviction of the per-
son, or people, responsible
for releasing the snake or al-
lowing it to escape. The re-
ward is $18,400.
 The Florida Fish and
Wildlife Conservation Com-
mission (FWC) has been
dealing with released and
wild Burmese pythons, list-
ed as a reptile of concern,
for the past several years.
While some pythons are
known to have escaped into
the wild, others may have
been intentionally released.
The Burmese python may
reach a length of 26 feet and
a weight of more than 200
pounds. All reptiles of con-
cern, when in the wild, can
prey on native wildlife and
potentially can be danger-
ous to people. Several per-


 As I See It
 By FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto
 Look To The Sky

For White Pelicans


tion Commission (FWC)
and the former Game
and Fresh Water Fish
Commission. Most of
his work was with
brown pelicans and bald
eagles. He's retired now
but still does a signifi-
cant amount of contract
work with the FWC on
these species.
 He says white peli-
cans nest in early sum-
mer along freshwater
lakes in northern Cali-
fornia, Utah, North
Dakota, Kansas, Nebras-
ka and well into Canada.
Unlike brown pelicans,
which are "plunge
divers," white pelicans
sit on the surface and
scoop all sorts of small
freshwater fish such as
various minnows, suck-
ers, shiners and any-
thing small that is
unfortunate enough to
swim near them. Nesbitt
said it's in the fall as
temperatures begin to
drop that white pelicans
begin a southward mi-
gration that can lead
them to Florida,
Louisiana, Texas or
Mexico.
 "To be such big
birds, they're fairly light
but they have a big
wingspan. Like a lot of


birds, they migrate fol-
lowing fronts on high
pressure. They catch the
thermals and they can
go forever," he said.
 Nesbitt said white
pelicans likely follow the
Mississippi River to the
Gulf of Mexico, then by
the thousands, they head
either east or west, prob-
ably returning to places
they've been going to for
thousands of years.
 The pelicans that
Ramsey photographed
are likely to wind up in
any number of places in
Florida. Nesbitt said it's
common to see winter-
ing flocks near Cedar
Key on the Gulf Coast,
but most spend their
winter months on lakes
and rivers from the St.
Johns River down to the
Kissimmee chain of
lakes and Lake Okee-
chobee.
 Nesbitt said one
noteworthy characteris-
tic of both white and
brown pelicans is their
sensitivity to harmful
chemicals or pesticides
in the water. He said
they are the "canary in
the coal mine" when it
comes to dangerous pol-
lutants.
 Just a few years ago


mitted reptile dealers and
owners have assisted the
agency in capturing wild
Burmese pythons on state-
managed areas in South
Florida since July.
 With heightened public
awareness, calls to the FWC
about the large snakes have
increased significantly, and
many reptile owners are
concerned that the public's
image of them is inaccurate.
 Michael Cole is a rep-
tile dealer in Central Flori-
da. He owns and operates
Ballroom Pythons South.
 "Most people who own
Burmese pythons and other
reptiles of concern are very
responsible pet owners and
would never release them or
inadequately cage them,"
Cole said. "It is not fair to
categorize us as a bad group
of people. We care for our
pets, and we care for Flori-
da's wildlife and ecosys-
tems."
 The FWC enacted rules
in January 2008 regulating
reptiles of concern. Reptiles
of concern are the Burmese
python, African rock python
(northern and southern),
amethystine python, reticu-


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lated python, green anacon-
da and the Nile monitor
lizard. To own one of these
animals, an FWC permit is
required. The permit costs
$100, and a questionnaire
must be completed. In addi-
tion, the animal must be mi-
cro-chipped; it is required to
be caged, and the cage must
meet certain caging require-
ments. A disaster plan for
securing or evacuating the
animal must be written, and
the FWC will make on-site
and unannounced inspec-
tions. The laws apply to
every reptile of concern
owner, regardless of when
the owner took possession of
the animal.
 "Our aim is not to take
away the rights of reptile
owners, but to make sure
those who have the animals
are responsible and the ani-
mals are cared for and not
released," said Capt. John
West, of the FWC's Captive
Wildlife Section. "Like any-


dozens of white pelicans
and several other
species of birds died
when they tried to feed
on a flooded vegetable
farm near Lake Apopka
in North Central Flori-
da. The culprit highly
toxic pesticides bound
in the soil until the lake
was filled.
 Around 1960, a simi-
lar pesticide spill or case
of illegal dumping cost
Louisiana virtually all
of its brown pelicans, ac-
cording to Nesbitt.
Overnight, he said, al-
most 40,000 pairs of peli-
cans disappeared from
that state. Florida later
played a part in restor-
ing their populations by
sending dozens of pairs
of birds.
 For now, though,
look to the sky, particu-
larly to the west, as you
drive anywhere along
the coast. If you're
lucky enough to see a
flock of migrating white
pelicans, they'll typical-
ly be 2,000-3,000 feet high
and drifting along in a
lazy line. Sometimes the
entire flock will do a
lazy, 360-degree turn be-
fore resuming their
flight.
 Their stay here in
the Sunshine State is
fairly limited. By March
or early April, they re-
verse the process and fly
back to familiar
grounds.
 It's nature's amazing
way.


thing, if the laws are fol-
lowed, there are fewer prob-
lems."
 To provide owners of
reptiles of concern an av-
enue to get rid of their ani-
mals, rather than to release
them, the FWC directed
staff on Dec. 10 to imple-
ment an executive order
that will allow the reptiles
to be turned over to autho-
rized reptile of concern per-
mit holders with no
questions asked. The execu-
tive order will take effect in
approximately two to three
weeks.
 "We want all reptile
keepers and pet owners to be
responsible," Cole said. "If
you're not legal, you're not
part of us."
 To report information
regarding this case and to
collect the reward, or to re-
port any wildlife law viola-
tion, call the FWC's Wildlife
Alert Reward Program at
888-404-FWCC (3922).


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Reptile Industry Offers Large Reward For Python Releaser