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So far so good - numbers are definitely down but having pretty good success. I think it will get pretty tough after Thanksgiving with so much hunting pressure however.

That is high priority later this year - I have been dying to check out your property!!

remy - which seed mixes did you go with on your big farm? Was it mostly 20-20 mixes, 10-30, etc. ?

Family is living in the acreage - very good people that we know, so hunting around the acreage is not an issue.

Yes. Canada wild rye is definitely the worst which is excluded, the Virginia doesn't seem near as bad for the awns (still not great).

Yeah I haven't shot many clays but I have shot a lot of roosters. Much more confident hitting roosters than I am clays. Comfort thing, easier IMO. Most pheasant shots aren't very hard in my opinion, as long as you're ready and relatively quick to the draw.

Yes this is all federal program except the waterways and shelter belt. CRP rates went down with new administration - had to wait a year but would have been ~$60 per acre higher a year ago. Not quite comparable to cash rent rates but somewhat competitive.

Yes, contract started November 15, we've got about 15 acres left to drill this week.

Shortgrass: https://www.pfhabitatstore.com/store/21049/IA/IA-PF-CP25-Cyclone-Short-Grass-Mesic-Prairie-2020-Mix Tallgrass: https://www.pfhabitatstore.com/store/21048/IA/IA-PF-CP25-Hawkeye-Tallgrass-Mesic-Prairie-2020-Mix Pollinator...

Just starting drilling this weekend into bean stubble. Here is our seeding map. ~100 acres total. Shelter belt was planted two years ago. Really excited to see what this property can produce for birds in the coming years!

We did well. Hunted with my dad and friend Saturday and got our 9 relatively quick, then added a couple of buddies on Sunday and got our 15 but about 11'oclock. Took the morning off to go with my dad and ended up with 5 before we headed to work. Had very good success, but did not see great...

Needle in a haystack

Thanks for the report. I was out running the dogs on some public land yesterday and kicked up 5-6 very young birds that had not even started coloring out yet.

Nothing wrong with that at all!

Completely agree. I took my 5 month old golden with me all year last year. As long as their recall is fine and you're not worried about shooting, can't hurt a thing. Thousands of bird flushes, exposure to all sorts of shooting, different scenarios, etc. Builds a very confident dog in my opinion.

Have killed hundreds of birds over mine the past several years. Best retrievers that I have ever hunted with, can hunt very long, and hard. Will run mine for multiple days straight with no breaks. Thrive in the cold. If you're going to be hunting a whole lot in warmer temps, that would be the...

Absolutely love my two. All I have ever hunted with so I'm probably biased. Can't beat the personality - especially for house dogs the rest of the year.

No question. From talking with folks in the DNR who do the surveys, it does sound like they had several routes along poor habitat that usually prodcue just a few bird sightings that produced multiples of that this year.

Anecdotally between eastern iowa and NW IA, I have not really been seeing any more birds than any time the past 5 years either out driving or running the dogs. I hope they are right, but I'm not convinced yet. I think it will be a good year regardless, but I don't think it is as good as the DNR...

Would recommend hunting the public ground during the week and save your private access for Saturday/Sunday. There are birds around that area for sure.