This week we’re taking a look at an Iowa hunting farm. Obviously, Iowa is well known for whitetails and this farm is no different, but there are subtle tweaks that can be made to make it even better. It has a good variety of habitat types and edges that whitetail love. The stands of young cedars offer great cover, but over time will mature and shade out surrounding vegetation. Simply cutting them sporadically will keep them thin enough that as they mature, they won’t shade out the surrounding areas. Next, we’re identifying stands of young oaks for future mast production. Some of these areas have competing trees with little to no wildlife value. By identifying these locations, the land owner can use timber stand improvement methods such as hinge cutting or girdling to prevent competition and allow the mast producing trees to thrive. The farm has plenty of warm season grasses, but there are still areas of cool season grasses than have no benefit to wildlife. Rather than add more warm season grasses to the farm, we would recommend converting it into a native stand. A controlled burn is out of the question because of trees planted, but a simple timely herbicide application will encourage beneficial weeds that are already present in the seed bed to germinate. The old field style habitat will add to the diversity of this farm and further it’s attraction to whitetail and other wildlife.