Middle of the field, not good!!
However, how much meat do your really get of the front shoulders after trimming tendons, ligaments etc....not much on most deer. With 18 deer, I am sure they had all the meat they could handle. I'm not recommending the practice, but I don't think it is as bad as it would seem. I have been told that in MN all you have to remove from the deer to avoid Wanton Waste is the loins and HQ's. Not sure that applies in IA or not.