Feral hogs take bite out of cotton yields

 

...Early in the cotton growing season, Ryan might see hog tracks but no damage. “It just comes later on when you have boll formation.”

“Feral hogs are habitat generalists, meaning they can make use of a variety of habitat types and conditions,” wrote authors Mikayla Killam, Wildlife Damage Management program specialist; and John M. Tomeček, associate professor and Extension Wildlife specialist, both of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, in a recent publication, Feral hogs and drought. “As opportunistic omnivores, diet constraints are very flexible for feral hogs.”  

It’s not only bolls that feral swine are stealing but yields and profit. A 2021 Texas study revealed that impacts to individual producers can costs upwards of $200,000 annually when losses, management efforts, and lost opportunities are considered, according to the Texas A&M AgriLife website, “Coping with Ferl Hogs.” ...more