Drought effects don't usually hit turkeys till winter. Like now, crops are matured already around where I live in west Tn. They will likely be harvesting at the end of August, as opposed to early October typically. That being said, the birds will shift to grain as primary food source several months early, since any green forage is likely dead or not palatible. Also, the oaks aren't going to dropping many, if any, acorns here this year. This all rolled into one event means the birds won't have any food left if a hard winter moves in December or January. Seen this exact same set of circumstances in 2007 here. The leaves dropped the first week of September that year because of an epic drought we experienced. Let's pray we get some rain this fall to give the legumes a chance to establish before first frost.
