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I don't disagree that others will disagree with something that I may say and do. The reason I am in the wildlife business is by choice, not by chance. When others are directly and negatively impacting Iowa wildlife, than I may say so. It's "our" wildlife that is being impacted, not mine. We...

I would be posting pictures all day and getting nothing done if I did that. It is STUPID what is going on. Fueled by pure GREED and nothing else. Iowa's pheasant hunting is all but history -- forever -- in my opinion because of this. Deer can adapt and weather the winters but we are losing...

What are your goals? Are they to enhance whitetail habitat quality? Make a park-like understory? Killing the understory, with a young overstory, won't really accomplish a whole lot in my opinion, unless you just want a clean forest floor.

Hey Muddy hope life is treating you well! I've been using a pair of 18" tall black uninsulated boots from the farm store. I get a new pair every other year or so and I think they cost about $12. I wear a pair of thick wool socks and when it gets in the 20's on some of those late November...

Most of the time, little, if any, cost-share is allowed on top of ground that is currently in CRP -- (for conversion of the grassland habitat). Definitely check with the NRCS to see if they can work something in though. Every office is different and seems to have different rules of procedure...

TSI, using the right prescription, not always crop tree release, is vitally important to any forest. Remember, too, that selective harvest is really not the right harvest prescription in oak dominated forest -- clear cutting is the answer here, so oaks can get full sunlight. The white oak...

I agree with what you are saying letemgrow. The one thing that I see here on my 100 acre farm is that the oldest bucks -- those in that 6.5 year old and older range -- are never (and I hate to use the word "never" but so far I haven't seen it) the aggressors. The oldest bucks are usually...

I agree on bully bucks -- that they certainly exist. It's just that I don't think we can -- just be noticing a few observations -- figure out exactly which ones they are a high percentage of the time. And I don't think most people correctly deem the genetic potential of the buck they may deem...

That is a tough situation to figure out. Probably impossible. In my opinion, unless you have eyes on all your bucks nearly 24/7, accurately identifying any potential bucks as "bully's" is just a wild guess that may be based off just a few random observations (very small sample size). In...

We need to do away with deer drives and party hunting in Iowa. We need to create more incentives for farmers to create wildlife habitat on their land (instead of incentives to grow more beef and/or hogs). We need corn and bean prices to go down (so people won't rip up every little strip of...

Sorry I hit "post" instead of "preview" there so there are a few typos in my response above! Best, Rich W.

Hi, I would let those 3.5 year old 8-pointers grow into whatever they turn into. Keep in mind, not all deer a guy sees in the field as an 8-pointer will stay that way. In many cases, an 8 one year, will be a 11, 9, or 15 pointer the next. I passed on solid 8 point 150 class buck one year...

<span style="color: #FF0000">Select will kill the fire out of grasses and will not touch your clover if used at the recommended rates</span>. We use 10-12 oz/acre on most sites and the results are amazing. You can mix this with 2-4 DB to get broadleaves as well. The DB WILL cause varying...

The "average" TSI job is crop-tree release, which runs $100-$115 per acre, depending on project. Cost-share is available for up to $75 per acre on this. Minimum acre size depends on county -- 10 acres is typical. However, 10 acres is maximum in some counties! Site preparation -- including...

Just to clarify something that was noted above: trees in the red oak group are far more susceptible to oak wilt than are those in the white oak group. Black, pin, shingle and red are all very susceptible to the disease -- these are all red oak varieties. There is cost-share available -- for up...

turtl, Oaks are very tolerant of shade when they are young. This is nature's way of regeneration. They sit on the forest floor "waiting" for some catastrophic event to take out some overstory trees -- lightening, winds, ice, etc, and then they grow and fill in the gap. Keep in mind, though...

Hi turtL, No, not referring to money-wise on the mature oak woodlot management of clear cutting (although it is the best for that too). Oaks need full sunlight for optimal growth and one must remove the overstory trees to get good straight growth out of the understory seedlings. Spot...

Ghost has a beautiful timber there! Our company, IWHS, helped him out with 75% of the TSI work on his place. Ghost was very smart by initiating the TSI process with a Forest Stewardship Plan with goals assessed and outlined ahead of time. We worked with Ghost in marking and completing the TSI...

Hi Daver, I agree with the above posts. Make sure you get someone besides a logger to look at your trees. A consulting forestry business will definitely help you get the best bid. Let me know if we can be of any help. We are doing a sale right now in Davis county and I can stop by and look...

Hey Plotman, Deer love the leaves of the Osage and will seek them out. I have a couple of these trees in my backyard and you won't find many leaves within browsing height. They will eat the "hedge apples" when food is sparse, usually late winter, cold temps and deep snow. Good hunting! Raven