G&H Farms

[SwampCat]

Been on this forum for quite awhile and really enjoy reading about everyone’s property - so decided I would start a thread of my own. Located in SW Arkansas, 450 acres in two parcels - 62 acres eight miles from the larger parcel which is also where my house is located. The two parcels are logistically problematic because of getting equipment to the smaller property - but a whole different game population that is not shared by each property. About half the property is bottomland subject to annual floods and the balance is on a ridge, 200 ft above the bottoms.

Bottom ground is gumbo, black sticky ground - but rich. The upland is calcarous soil that many plants do not favor - natural 7.5 pH.

 

[SwampCat]

I have about 40 acres of annual food plot - mostly winter wheat and durana clover, with some dove plots and also some waterfowl plots. SW AR gets its weather straight out of Texas, and hot, dry summers are common. Last summer - from mid june to end of Sept - my place received just under two inches of rain. The drought killed all my durana clover. I replanted my food plots in October with wheat and durana - plus another clover or two mixed in

Below is my largest plot at seven acres - in a natural native pecan grove, last winter after fall planting.



Feb flood, killing all the clover - again




Spring , mostly wheat and annual ryegrass - which infests every plot I have

 

[SwampCat]

I also have about 15 bee hives. Was setting up a couple new nucs yesterday, and one of the bees decided a full on frontal attack was neccesary. That is my eyelid with a stinger imbedded. That one HURT

 

[SwampCat]

I am semi retired, so I have a chance to work on my place every day or two. Today, picking up some browntop millet seed in town to put in a couple dove plots.

 

[omicron1792]

That’s awesome swamp. The pecan orchard field is something else! And flooded timber at times to boot. Ducks fly in there?

 

[SwampCat]

That’s awesome swamp. The pecan orchard field is something else! And flooded timber at times to boot. Ducks fly in there?

Yes - it is a good spot for ducks - if flooded during season - which it didnt flood until five days after season this year

 

[buckdeer1]

Can you set up a flooding dam so you can duck hunt then plant food plot

 

[SwampCat]

Spread my browntop millet on a couple dove fields I had previously sprayed with roundup. I couldnt get a tractor in there because of wet trails and water - so ended up using my ranger and electric seeder. Worked perfectly last Oct. Been in the dry since, and of course it had a malfunction with the gate opening. I fought through that and got it spread in hopes the forecasted rain gets here. Running out of time. Not the best case scenario to top sow in untilled seedbed - but I like to sow millet first week of May. Spread at a higher seeding rate in hopes I get a decent stand in spite of subpar seed bed prep.

 

[SwampCat]

Exogyra fossilized oyster shell I found while spreading the seed

 

[SwampCat]

Can you set up a flooding dam so you can duck hunt then plant food plot

No. That portion of the property is in a flowage easement. I can utilize natural beaver dams and sloughs to hold water - but can not construct a dam to hold water.

 

[SwampCat]

Can you set up a flooding dam so you can duck hunt then plant food plot

I do have three other duck holes - 2, 4, and 8 acres

 

[omicron1792]

I love it.

I hunt stuttgart once a year.

I have water controllers on two of my ponds and flood small areas on each. I get woodies and the occasional ring neck but nothing like up there.

 

[SwampCat]

I love it.

I hunt stuttgart once a year.

I have water controllers on two of my ponds and flood small areas on each. I get woodies and the occasional ring neck but nothing like up there.

It is nothing like it used to be here, either.

 

[SwampCat]

Full day today. We used to have hogs by the droves. I have killed as many as 153 in six months. USDA been trapping the heck out of them, along with more folks with thermal scopes. Getting pretty scarce. This decent sized boar been getting pretty regular on a feeder. Showed up early enough tonight to make a try at him. Weighed just shy of 190. Decent size, but small teeth

 

[SD51555]

Whoa! What do you do with that many pig carcasses?

 

[SwampCat]

Throw them in a gully. We eat a few of the 60 lb gilts. Cant hardly give them away.

 

[buckdeer1]

Nice looking duck water.I had a 10 acre hole that looked alot like that.It was great 4 or 5 of us would shoot a limit of woodys everyday and then when they moved on it was limits of mallards.Then the drought hit and not a drop of water in it now.We are getting rain at this moment but not enough to fill anything back up.

 

[356]

Glad to hear the trapping efforts are helping.…and I thought disposing of 80+ coons this year was a challenge…
Nice place. Thanks for sharing the journey.

 

[SwampCat]

Nice looking duck water.I had a 10 acre hole that looked alot like that.It was great 4 or 5 of us would shoot a limit of woodys everyday and then when they moved on it was limits of mallards.Then the drought hit and not a drop of water in it now.We are getting rain at this moment but not enough to fill anything back up.

I have something that helps a little bit with the water. A pto ten inch pump - 3500 gal per minute.

 

[Troubles Trees]

Man that is an impressive Pecan grove, consider me jealous! Great thread SwampCat! I love to see how others are doing their work, it always amazes me the difference between areas regarding what pests you have and the vast differences in behaviors of the same species from their place to mine.

Everything looks great, keep us posted bud.