For years when Scott Day stalked deer in southeast Missouri, he dreamed of hunting trophy whitetail bucks in Kansas.
Now a Kansan, Day and wife, Kim, have ample opportunities to hunt. Both bagged nice bucks last fall, he with bow and she with rifle.
The Days have a 327-acre farm northwest of Iola, adjoining the Neosho River, that is becoming more wildlife-friendly each year. It teems with deer, has a good population of turkeys, draws ducks and geese to a nine-acre wetlands project, and this winter is home to several large coveys of quail.
When the Days purchased the farm in 2007, it was with the intent of creating their own preserve.
For developing wildlife habitat, they will be honored with the Wildlife Award at the Allen County Conservation District annual meeting Wednesday evening in the Iola High School commons.
THE DAYS moved to the Iola area 11 years ago when he came to work at Gates Corporation. Today he is director of operations.
His farm, he said, is a pleasant diversion. Management efforts have included clearing 171⁄2 acres of brush and reseeding with native grass and forbs. Another 58.4 acres have been seeded to grass, as have two acres of berms that turned farm ground into a swallow lake.
“At full pool it covers 9 acres and is about 5 feet at its deepest. Most is 18 inches to 2 feet deep,” Day said, ideal for ducks and geese. Depth and surface acreage of the pool is controlled by wooden gates.
About 60 acres of the farm is leased for crops. What the combine misses provides victuals for wildlife, along with that grown in smaller areas planted specifically as food plots.
To provide even more cover and attraction for wildlife, the Days have planted a variety of 600 trees and 900 shrubs — plum and sumac — in a plot covering nearly an acre and a half. The shrubs are planted four to six feet apart and at maturity will be four to six feet tall, giving wildlife thick and inviting refuge.
All that they have done has been accomplished in the past four years. They leased the farm for three years previous to its purchase, which gave them a good feel for the lay of the land and time to plan for its improvement.
“This has been fun to do,” Day said, to create a place just the way they want it.
