His trees and techniques will be on display at the public field day on Oct. 29.

Des Moines County farmer and gypsum plant retiree, Bob ‘Spook’ Brown, is blessed with a wealth of patience. This is a fortunate attribute to possess when the crop you are raising can take up to 150 years to mature.

Brown is a tree farmer and his diligent and innovative tending of 60-plus acres of hardwood in the county’s northern reaches has earned him recognition as Iowa’s Tree Farmer of the Year. His work at the Brown tree farm began in 1992 and will be on public display during a forestry field day, hosted by the ISU Forestry Extension, and Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

The event takes place at the Brown farm, White Oak Hills, at 18502 Golden Road, Yarmouth, on Tuesday, October 29, and kicks off at 9 am. Attendees will have an opportunity to review Bob’s growing and planting techniques and assess the impact tree farming can have on wildlife and water quality.

Speakers for the event will include conservation organization and State forestry experts. The field day will also give Bob a chance to show off the direct nut seeding equipment that he has developed.

Brown is an innovative shade tree mechanic and in the farm’s numerous work shop buildings there are numerous mechanical projects awaiting his attention. “You might say that my hobby is that I keep trees and old cars,” he said.

Brown’s ties to the farm and the rough ground, with Cedar Creek running through it, are deep and obvious. He reports his great-grandfather was farming the ground in the 19th Century and he has resisted offers to sell parcels to be developed as home sites.

“I don’t do much farming anymore,” he explained,” because I rent out the crop land but I do work on the tree plots. Some of the white oak I have growing won’t be ready for harvesting for another 150 years but somewhere down the road, grandkids or great-grandkids will benefit from it all. It is not something you do to get rich.”

Brown estimates that he as planted up to 122,000 acorns and walnuts utilizing his bespoke nut planter. However this is only the first step in the care and feeding of hardwood trees.

“My planting is a little different that a lot of people,” he said. “I put the nuts in the ground close together – almost like you would plant soybeans. Then after a few years I will go back in and begin thinning them out so I end up with about 750 seedlings to an acre.

“I’m pretty popular with the squirrels and rabbits and they help me in my thinning work. Then I go back in every year and later just once every ten years, to thin them out,” he added.

Brown feels that the dense planting and crowded early grown of this trees produces a straight trunk highly prized by log buyers. The trees are competing with each other and this promotes straight growth with fewer branches that need trimming.

Brown does have some concern for the long-term value of his carefully tended trees – especially the walnut. He explains that the biggest customer for walnut logs is China but recent tariff tiffs have caused the price of this wood to decline sharply.

White Oak Hills' tree acreage is in the government’s forest reserve program that permits a property tax exemption. Brown also is a member of the Iowa Walnut Council and Woodland Owner’s Organization but resists further involvement with other government programs.

“Once you sign on to all those programs you end up with a lot people telling you what you should do and what you can’t do. I don’t want that and I think my trees are getting along just fine.”

Those trees and techniques will be on display at the field day and the public is invited. However advanced registration with Des Moines County Extension service is encouraged.