Putting the wind up them

Over-shooting will not protect crops; you need a well thought-out plan of attack — and the right conditions, says Tom Payne

- Tom Payne

I’ve said so many times that peas are a fantastic all-round crop for the passionate pigeon shooter. From drilling to harvest, if you manage your protection duties correctly, it is a crop that can reward you with multiple outings.

There has been quite a decline of pea growth in some counties, however. They are not the easiest crop to get to harvest and can be an absolute nightmare to combine. Add this to possible poor yields and you can understand a farmer’s unwillingness to grow them.

Because of the decline in winter oilseed rape being grown, farmers have had to find a viable break crop and this has seen a resurgence in this all-rounder of a pigeon crop — much to the excitement of many a shooter. However, I have a theory about new crops in areas that previously did not grow a crop such as peas. I believe it takes three years for a pigeon population to switch on to a new food source in the area. Many of you may have gained a crop such as peas on your permissions but have yet to have much success.

Unshootable

Managing peas, and the damage caused to the crop by pigeons, needs to be thought out and planned. The reason it’s important to manage your outings is because you want to control the crop damage by reducing pigeon numbers, not increase damage by over-shooting, making a pigeon population unshootable and just pushing them around the whole crop.

With this in mind, unless the numbers are high over a fresh pea drilling, I will leave them alone and let them gain confidence in that field. The crop itself becomes very vulnerable as it grows and pigeons will quickly get on to the pea shoots.