Mast shortage?

[JNRBRONC]

I've noticed that some of the oak trees didn't fair too well from the freeze we had in early May. There was an article in the FB Spokesman that talked about the freeze and that it will most likely affect acorn production this year. If your deer hunting hotspot is a stand of oaks where the deer congragate to eat acorns you might want to check the trees out. Looks like the food plots might help more than usual this year, at least around Johnson County. Did the freeze hit the oaks in your area?

 

[HighJumper]

A lot of oaks in Polk co. finally getting going. Had several mornings that nipped um.

 

[livtahunt]

just now starting to get leaves in jackson county that freeze hit hard

 

[TimberPig]

Most of my young (planted in '03) oaks had just leafed out when the freeze hit and they lost all their leaves. They were planted in a low area near a creek as part of a ripiran buffer strip. They have since re-leafed nicely but I am sure it set back some growth for this year. All of my mature oaks look fine. Time will tell if it affects their acorn production.

 

[JNRBRONC]

Yeah, it is unfortunate that the freeze hit just as the oaks were flowering. With all the ag land in Iowa, the deer won't starve but this could have an impact on their travel patterns.

 

[SaskGuy]

We had an early June frost last yr, it hammered the native fruit trees. All looks good so far this year, trees are starting to flower now, keeping my fingers crossed that the frost stays away. The wildlife like the fruit....and I like making jam out of it.