By now, your fall food plots should be looking something like this example photo to the left. This photo was taken last week on one of our plots on an Allamakee County farm we manage for one of our clients. And your stands, for the most part, should be all set! When it comes to property preparation, there are some things you should keep in mind. Especially here in Iowa! 
Right now is the perfect time to be sure that your cameras are placed on traditional rub lines. The reason for this is that capturing natural movement of a potential shooter deer is concrete data that you can use to actually draw up a complete hunting strategy. No, you won't get 1000 pictures in a day, but old rublines that are renewed from year to year are often created by the same deer that created them the year before. That simple fact will keep you focused on worrying only about the images of older age class deer as well as immature bucks that you'll be targeting in upcoming years. 
Your mowing should already be done as well that leads into and out of stand location and trail systems. If need be, in the timber, use a powerful leaf blower to clear debris leading into and out of your stand locations. This will be extremely helpful when moving into and out of early season stands. Of course, naturally new leaf cover and winds will blow back over these trails, but for the most part, it will keep heavy cover such as tree branches from snapping under your feet when sneaking in under the cover of darkness. You could also use a simple garden rake if you don't have access to a blower. The blower is just way more efficient. 
I know what you're thinking, "How could you possibly take a picture and post it with a deer's tongue hanging out like that?!". Well, because it's the only one we got! And, I'm not going to delete it or not share with others who can appreciate what it means when a child shoots her first deer! I know I'll take a few verbal beatings from some folks, but I'll get a lot of high praises for posting this blog. I'm not ashamed of what we do as hunters and I'm certainly nothing less but proud of my little girl. All too often when we send out email blasts, we get responses from those that mention how disgusted they are to physically threatening us and our families. Heck, someone even threated to stick hot forks in the eyes of our children...Really?? This blog is not about that though, for those of you that can appreciate and are proud of our little future hunters, read on. If you can't appreciate the incredible resource that god has provided for us through wildlife, then don't read anymore. But whatever you do, try not to think about the cute clucks of that precious chicken you're about to take a bite out of for lunch, or the big eyes of that small calf that has grown into a big bull that made that awesome angus burger from McDonalds you ate last night on the way home from work.
muzzleloader that dropped it in it's tracks. It wasn't too many years ago when my son shot his first deer and I will never forget these days. Both of them were 5 years old at the time and although some say that may be too early, but you have to remember that my kids grow up the grandson of a deer farmer. Sam Collora, of 
Taking a child hunting, even if it's not you're own, can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life. My son, who is now 10, got to watch himself on an episode of "The Industry" television show just yesterday as it aired across hundreds of thousands of homes on the Sportsman Channel. You can only begin to imagine his excitement and giggles as he watched himself for the first time in the edited version of his biggest buck hunt yet! He smashed a giant 167" buck from a tower blind last year in early October and that deer sits on the wall for all to see now. It makes for one proud boy to show off his biggest trophy to all of his friends that stay over from time to time and clients that we've invited into our home since last october! We at 
Interest In Large Tracts and Small Building Tracts Are Up!!
Recently we have added two new team members to help assist with our country home and acreage sales. My wife, Maria White, and her sister, Gina Davis, have both come on board, currently acting as both sellers agents on small tracts, and as buyers agents for those looking for existing country homes. As country home and small acreage landowners themselves, they understand what buyers are looking for in an "outside-of-town" purchase. Both Gina and Maria have several small tracts that will be coming available in the coming months on our site. They can also assist you in sifting through the marketplace with properties that are already listed with other companies, as well to represent your best interests in finding and purchasing your dream home. If you're interested in finding the right country acreage for you from someone that truly specializes and knows the country markets, contact Maria at 319-217-1075 or Gina at 319-931-5725. Both are licensed in Iowa.
The other category of land that seems to have strong buyer interest, is properly positioned large tracts over 400 acres. We have recently put together several very large deals here in Southern Iowa and are in the process of selling a large tract in West Central Missouri. These tracts have taken investor interests on two fronts. One, is the desire for a quality property from a wildlife perspective. Two, is from the investment perspective. Several landowners are now in a positions where they are ready to make a move to a different type of investment and step aside from farming. Others seem to be stressed from financial burdens outside of the Midwest.
In any case, large tracts have been moving when midsize tracts seem to have slowed down. Perhaps it's because most of the midsize tracts were being bought and sold previously based on speculation. Perhaps it's because the construction trade in major cities have had the brakes put on them by tightening lending laws and job losses. One thing is very evident, many speculators over the past few years who have been playing the "land trading" game and have gotten hammered by those tightening lending practices. With banks now generally requiring more than 30% down for fixed rate loans and 20% down for variable ARM's, there simply aren't as many "land traders" or "flippers" in the market. And, that is clearly what we see putting the squeeze on small property sales.
So what's the bright side to the medium-sized tract slump? Big opporunity for those in the position to invest!! Today I received a call from a buyer who attended a public auction by another real estate company in Monroe County, Iowa. He was asking for directions to one of our listings in that area, the Monroe County Droptine Dream. He had just left the auction, which looked like a respectable hunting farm from the aerial. He told me that it only brought a single bid of $750 per acre. After the sellers refused the bid, he brought it up to $900 per acre. The sellers still refused and apparently "No Sale-ed" the property. The rumor in the crowd was apparently that the property could have been bought for $1500 per acre, which probably would have been an incredible price. But the buyer that told me about the auction, didn't stick around to see the final outcome for sure.
Although I have yet to verify that was the case, the fact that the buyer called me to look at a property listed just down the road at $2450 an acre was intriguing. He obviously knew that an auction price such as that meant one of two things. One, the number of buyers that day at the auction was virtually non-existent and he may be able to get a real bargain on another tract that he really wanted. Or two, he thought the quality of the attempted auction tract was low compared to that of our listing, simply because of the positioning price. In either case, he's one of many buyers that are out there looking for the right piece in a time of plenty of options.
Sure, there certainly are some distressed sellers out there, but who they are will remain a mystery to buyers until they put an offer in. Historically, most of our sales have occured within $100 to $200 per acre of the asking price. However, for those looking for some great buys, all they may need to do is ask. We have several sellers who are selling for a variety of reasons and not all sellers have to sell at a mark that's well below the asking price, but the moral of the story for the medium sized tracts is you don't know until you ask! So if you see a parcel that you'd like to have and think it's unobtainable, think of the auction story above. At $1500 per acre, it would have been a heck of a deal from an apparisal perspective, but no one was willing to pull the trigger, and several may have walked away from a deal that was as good as it's gonna get.
Sales are increasing on the opposite ends of the spectrum. It's my gut feeling that, at least in the short term, acceptable prices may not get any lower for some years to come. As the year has been progressing, we are burning our way back into higher sales volumes on those medium sized tracts week by week. If you're in the market and the right position, don't wait too long. Or, you may find yourself one of the ones saying,"I wish I would have bought it back when..."!
Below is just a snapshot of this month's listing and sales activities in the marketplace at www.LandAndGame.com...
Sale Pendings
Van Buren County Iowa Build and Hunt
Clark County Missouri Battle of Athens
Cooper County Missouri Sportsman's Corner
New Listings
Appanoose County Iowa Lake Sundown Sanctuary East
Appanoose County Iowa Lake Sundown Sanctuary West
Van Buren County Iowa Wet And Wild
Van Buren County Iowa Tall Tines and Timber Tract
Solds
Henry County Iowa Open Meadows
Lee County Iowa Booner Bluffs
Lee County Iowa Backwoods Timber Tract
