I got a super opportunity!

I have been managing some land for good family friends and this year I asked if I could turn a 100 acre farm field into a dove paradise. Ive got tractors and implements and good amount of resources but I do not know where to start!

Do I prep the land? i.e til, disc or plow?

Is 100 acres too much to start with? My faming experience is limited to cattle and cutting costal.

Are sun flowers the best for this? I also want to plant some milo and alflfa adjacent to this field to intrigue the deer as well.

I am a novice but love to learn. Any tips suggestions or what ever is welcomed!

Thanks in advance!

What is there now?

In one spot costal and a few weeds. in another spot there is some tall grass. I do have a brush hog and 3 point tiller I could use to prep if needed.

next season- you are late- can't plant anything but millet or other duck food right now......thats pushing it as well- plant sunflowers or milo next year- or winter wheat this year for next

I'd hunt it as is. Might surprise you.

Plow some ground just before the season starts. This may bring in a few doves this year. I think your real opportunity is next year. In some fields, all you have to do is plow to bring up the native sunflowers & croton.

plow it and throw out about 10K pounds of milo. That should help.

Yep, then hunt over the 10k pounds of seed you threw down.

Grab a bag of pop corn and sit down. its always good to plant several different things so that you don't have all of your eggs in one basket. You don't need 100 acres for a good dove field. A very small group of guys have taken 800 plus doves a season for numerous years on only 1 acre of sunflowers! I would plant 3- 15 acre plots on the 100 acres. All bordering one another. 15 acres of Clearfield Hybrid Sunflowers, 15 acres of White Prosco Millet, and 15 acres of Sesame. If there is a power line or tree line bordering or running through the field I would plant there. The white Prosco Millet I would plant in early April. March 15th, Spray roundup on the 15 acres where the white Prosco is going. April 1st plow the dead stubble under really good. Broadcast about 20 pounds of Prosco per acre. Drag it or roll it with a Cultipacker. In about 70 days, the Prosco will be ready,( way early I know), but this is what you want. July 1st you can start bush hogging a few strips in it to get the doves coming to your field. They may already be in there and if they are then don't shred much. You just want to keep some birds around for the summer so that they will stay around your place. Prosco is cheap and easy to plant. Sesame and Clearfield Hybrids need to be planted May 1st. If you wait much longer than this then you won't have enough moisture or enough time to have them ready for the opener. April 15th, spray roundup on the 15 acres for the Sunflowers and the 15 acres for the sesame. May 1st plow and plant. Broadcast your Clearfield sunflowers. I would do 50 pounds. They come in 25 pound bags at $200 per bag. A little pricey but they are the best. They can accept the herbicide called Beyond which will kill broadleafs and some grasses but not hurt your sunflowers. So, broadcast the 50 pounds, drag or Cultipack , and now it's time to spray your pre emerge. The ground needs to remain clean for the sunflowers to be any good. A product called Dual and Spartan tank mixed together will work great. But you need to spray right before a rain. Like a day or two before. It needs rain to be activated. This will keep all your grass seed from germinating and allow your sunflowers to reach canopy before the chemical wears off and the grass can germinate. When your sunflowers get about 1 foot high, if there are broadleafs growing with them, then you will need to spray them with beyond Herbicide. If there are no broadleafs but there is grass, then you can spray with just select. If you have broadleafs and grass, then tank mix the 2 together with a surfactant. Sunflowers will reach maturity in about 100 days. They will be ready for you to start stripping about 10 days before it opens. For the sesame , plow the 15 acres and broadcast about 6 pounds per acre. Drag or Cultipack and Done. The sesame will take about 120 days to reach maturity. When your Sesame gets about 6 to 8 inches high, spray them with Select Max. It will clean up the grass but not hurt the sesame. Sesame will be for the second split. Cut strips in it just like the sunflowers. If there is grass in the sunflowers or sesame, round up about 2 weeks before you start cutting. You do this, and you will have a barrel burner season and if you manage the fields right you can get a lot of hunts off of it. As far as this year it's to late to plant anything except winter wheat which its to early for that. If I were you , I would go in there and disc up about 25 acres of it and there may be some stuff in there the birds will eat. If so you can get a few hunts off of it. Sometimes they will go to a plowed field just to grit and you can get a good shoot. Doesn't hurt to try! I'd be more than happy to haul my equipment and help you do the work for a few hunts with you. Let me know if you ever need any help or advice. I'm not the best but I was taught by him lol. I really enjoy farming for doves. If anyone who reads this post ever needs help id be happy to oblige. Good luck to everyone this season and be safe out there. Stay Hydrated and if you hunt with a retriever do not over work him in the heat. It will kill them. Oh, and take a kid or old person hunting! Thanks!

Thanks for all the input! I think next year will be the best once I prep the fields etc. This year I think Ill just hunt it how it is and try my luck. Maybe disc a bit.

It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll.