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Cranes and Farmers to Benefit from Newly Approved Bird Repellant

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Cranes and Farmers to Benefit from Newly Approved Bird Repellant
Originally published 2007-01-29

The International Crane Foundation (ICF) has been notified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that temporary approval has been given for the use of the non-lethal bird repellant, Avitec™ for a second year. New in spring 2007 is a liquid formulation to complement use of a powder. Farmers in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota can use this repellent to treat seed in areas where cranes have been damaging corn fields by eating corn seeds shortly after planting. This approval significantly advances ICF's goal to reduce conflicts arising between farmers and the increasing population of Sandhill Cranes in the Midwest.

AvitecTM has an active ingredient of 9,10 Anthraquinone, a naturally occurring substance used by plants to repel birds. The use of AvitecTM represents a decade of effort by ICF and collaborators to prevent damage that cranes cause. Cranes eat newly planted corn seeds that occur in straight rows at predictable intervals. Planted kernels are most vulnerable for about two weeks after the corn seedlings emerge. Cranes detect AvitecTM at very low levels and avoid it. Though treated, planted kernels are not eaten by cranes and the birds continue to forage on waste grains and other foods in those same fields. This benefits the farmer because waste corn and many types of beetle larvae can later cause problems as the crop matures.

AvitecTM is a practical and ecologically sound solution to crane crop damage. Importantly, the deterrent does not prevent cranes from foraging in cultivated areas where they remove waste grain and insect pests. By developing an effective non-lethal seed treatment, agriculture and conservation have developed a win-win situation where people and wildlife co-exist more harmoniously.

This first agricultural application of 9,10 Anthraquinone, approved within the United States as a bird repellent, is the result of extensive collaboration among many federal, state, and private organizations as well as Arkion, the manufacturer of AvitecTM. Applications for longer term use of AvitecTM are being pursued for the 2008 planting season.

For more information on the availability of Avitec™, check with your current seed retailer, seed distributor or call the AvitecTM help line at 1-800-468-6324, or visit the Arkion website. Importantly, a liquid treatment for corn seed, not available last year, can now be used but requires planning before the planting season. Growers in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota can also reach Dr. Eileen Cullen (UW-Extension) for more information on the use of Avitec™ at 608-261-1507.

The restoration of Wisconsin's Sandhill Crane population is a conservation success story. From the 1930's, when the state's crane population was estimated at 26 nesting pairs, the population has increased to well over 12,000 birds (ICF's Annual Midwest Crane Count estimate).