Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/barn-owls-helping-farmers/

We don’t often see a barn owl make a public appearance but when they do, they really deserve our admiration. They are rodent eating machines, and they are a welcome part of any farm.

This is more than just a convenience for the farmers, the US government is now reporting that up to 20% of the crops are consumed each year by rats.

Farmers are going to greater and greater extremes in order to control those populations but the barn owl does so willingly.

Professor Matt Johnson has been taking part in an ongoing research project at Humboldt State University in Arcata, California.

They would like to see how effective the owls are at getting rid of rodents. As natural predators, they do it without question, but farmers are starting to catch on and are appreciating what they can do to save their crops.

It seems as if those little owls can also be a pretty good friend.

In Napa Valley, the word is out and farmers are using them to control the pests that have been attacking their grape harvest. This is nothing new. They were at the forefront because they got their start about 40 years ago.

For years, toxic fertilizers were being used to control the rodent population. Unfortunately, those rodenticides also tainted the flavor of the grapes and made the wine less appealing. Rather than using pesticides, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation encouraged the use of those humble barn owls and it has been working ever since.

A boy Barn Owl nestling growing up in a nest box eating mice, gophers, & voles in the California grape 🍇 vines. Soon this youngster, along with his 4 older siblings, will rule the night sky 🌌. #WildAg pic.twitter.com/0UfMF0oRQC

— Ryan Bourbour (@talonDNA) April 11, 2021

The research that we discussed earlier got started in 2015. 75 California vintners were surveyed and 4/5 said that the owl boxes, which were placed in the area to help control the population of the rodents, were doing well. It also helped that Johnson, one of the leads of the study, is a lover of birds and he knew just how effective owls could be.

Johnson is now working with a number of research projects to show just how effective those owls can be, how to get across various landscapes, and how to choose the right boxes so that they will nest. In order to do so, barn owl nest boxes are being put throughout Napa Valley and the birds are being watched carefully.

This includes checking in on up to 280 nesting boxes and taking pictures. It seems as if Owls have particular likes and dislikes when it comes to where they live. They do like boxes that are at least 3 m high and are not facing directly toward the sun. Grassland is their favorite, although they will occasionally hang out in the forest.

Just how much can one owl family eat? The study shows that they eat up to 3400 rodents annually.

Aside from the fact that they will be helping the owls in the process, they are also excited about the fact that the use of chemical pesticides will be reduced significantly. This will help the environment in so many different ways and they are hopeful that the ongoing research will reduce the use of those pesticides.

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog