Crop Reports 2021

remy3424

Well-known member
The farmers are off and running in NW IA. Saturday saw several fields of beans and corn gone or being combined, was out a little this evening and saw 3 combines running. Most of the crop should be harvested by the time Iowa opener rolls around, if the weather cooperates at all for them. Saw no rain in the forecast this morning. Haven't been seeing tons of birds since the new ones got big enough to navigate in the deep cover, but they should be out there.
 
I would agree that the weather looks pretty favorable for the farmers to harvest to rest of the beans & corn before the opener. This my be one of the best starts ever if we can find some 12 gauge shells to hunt with. I was out his week and the shelves are still bare around my area. Oh the struggles of an Upland Bird Hunter!
 
I heard the Scheels in Sioux City had the shelves filled-up now, with ammo...not sure what kind or type and it was second-hand info, but it might be coming back somewhat. With Remingtom getting back in ammo production, that should help.

Shotgun shell shortage seems strange. Maybe pheasanting is seeing an increase in the numbers of hunters. When I was looking for a pup, most of the breeders I talked to, had no available pups....Is more hunting activity a by-product of COVID? Guessing the shortage is due more to the materials/shipping/labor issues that COVID dropped on us.
 
Remy,

Thanks for the update on Scheels I was planning on going there today. By the way nice looking shorthairs in your picture. The ammo shortage in general has been well documented across the nation but the last couple of years the lack of field loads on shotgun shells in truly incredible. Now I have been able to find them when needed but the shelves empty pretty fast in my area. Good luck this season, I hope to see some of your photos of your successful hunts in the near future.

Open Ranger
 
I was in Scheels a couple days ago. They were well stocked with Federal 20 gauge lead game loads. Pickings were pretty slim as far as 12 gauge lead goes.

I picked up a couple boxes of Kent Fast Lead in the Runnings in Vermillion earlier in the week. They had a few more boxes of the Kent's on the shelves at that time.
 
I went to two different Scheels over the weekend and all the had was Federal 20 Gauge on the shelf, no 12 Gauge at all! I talk with one of the store clerks and he said they had stock the shelve with all the 12 Gauge that they had early that morning and it was sold out very quickly. I will just have to keep searching over the next couple of weeks.
 
The past 2 days here hit 90 degrees, the beans are ready and coming out fast now. Corn has a decent start too, we have rain in the forecast for the next 4-5 days.
 
Drove out to WC Minn this past Thursday, very little has been harvested...maybe 3-4% beans and 1% corn.
I hunt EC MN and some of the corn was actually picked instead of combined because it was in such poor shape. Virtually all beans were still up about 10 days ago. Could use some rain...
 
I hunt EC MN and some of the corn was actually picked instead of combined because it was in such poor shape. Virtually all beans were still up about 10 days ago. Could use some rain...
Well, here in the Foley area, all the beans are that tan-ish, grey color...probably could be harvested now.
 
It's different a little further south. Lots of standing corn. Didn't bother us because more birds survive opening weekend.
 
I hunted around Sioux City area on Saturday, unpicked corn fields outnumbered picked corn fields 4 to 1. I even saw quite a few unpicked bean fields, the minimum maintenance roads were a bit muddy as well so the rain must be slowing down the harvest in my hunting area quite a bit.
 
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