It could be the old cliche'. If you don't set the table, you ain't gonna have birds. Getting third season doves requires that you plant enough food during the spring to last all three seasons.

  The way Federal laws are now, wheat won't last long enough to go the full three seasons. You are lucky if it lasts the first season. Millet might get you into the second season, and sunflowers will get you through the first and second seasons before they are completely gone. But if you want birds for all three seasons, you'd better plant corn and be prepared to chip a little along for the birds.

  Federal law states that you can manipulate the crop any way you want, as long as it doesn't leave the field. So now is the time to use your imagination. I wouldn't burn it, as it just leaves the ears. Of course, you could come back with a yard chipper and run the corn through to crack it up as long as you don't carry it to the other side of the field. The trick is to keep it next to the original stalk when you throw it into the chipper.

  An even better alternative is to own a silage cutter. I have a 717 Super New Holland one-row, and it chips and cracks the corn. Doves love it for a third season feast, and you can blow it in any direction and as far as the wind and silage blower will throw it - even on plowed ground. Yes, bare ground - the doves love bare ground to feed on.

  After you have blown out a few rows, you can come back and bush hog the stalks and scatter the corn even more with the mower. It is legal and it draws doves like a magnet.

  If you don't have a chipper or a bush hog and live on a farm, then consider using your combine and tighten it up a little so as to make it chip up the corn. This serves the same purpose, but it leaves the stalks. Of course, if you have used Roundup® corn, you have clean rows to start with, and the chipped corn will be readily available as food for doves.

  So if you want a good third season dove shoot, you need to make sure you have at least a few acres of corn leftover at the end of the year to chip, mow, blow out or combine for the birds.

  An organized shoot with a few of your friends can be a lot of fun, but it requires planning and hard work. If you have never planted or manipulated a dove field, then you probably don't know or don't have any idea of the vast amount of time and the cost involved. You will definitely feel it in your wallet to the tune of many thousands of dollars and many man hours of labor to prepare it. So get your friends to help, both financially and with the labor. Otherwise, you will burn yourself out in just a couple of years.

  Good luck with your third season doves. If I can help out, just give me a call at (803) 480-1453 and I will be happy to offer my advice based on the many lessons I have learned over the years.