Realistically, this year's poult-to-hen ratio is the worst in the state's history. The only year in which a worse ratio was recorded was 1960, when Missouri experienced a .8:1 poult-to-hen count, and the state's overall turkey population was so much smaller then than it is today that the numbers are hardly comparable.

"Folks in southwest Missouri had as much as 13 inches of rain last spring," Beringer pointed out. "The rest of the state experienced the hard freeze that happened in mid-April, a key egg-laying time for hens."

Rain and floods are bad enough. But when turkeys lose their nests altogether, they at least attempt to re-nest. Missouri's hard freeze came at a time when turkeys were laying eggs -- not sitting on them. The cold weather froze and killed most of those eggs, but the hens didn't know that and continued to sit on them in an attempt to incubate. Their effort was to no avail. These birds did not attempt a second nest, causing a decline in turkey productivity this year.

Considering the last five years, Missouri turkey hunters posted their best harvest in 2004, bagging nearly 56,700 birds. Since then, the number of gobblers taken annually in Missouri has steadily declined. More than 2,600 fewer longbeards were taken in 2007 than in the previous year. Still, MDC officials remain optimistic, emphasizing that the state has always bounced back from such declines.

"Weather plays a role in the productivity of all ground nesting birds," Beringer said. "Turkeys, pheasants, quail -- their productivity all depends on weather conditions."

BY THE NUMBERS
The MDC divides Missouri into regions based on turkey productivity. These regions are similar in habitat and soil types. The northeast and northwest regions are characterized by fertile agricultural land separated by blocks of timber and fencerows. The Lindley and Union breaks regions represent river-break habitat and are characterized by rolling hills and river bottoms along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. The west prairie region is self-explanatory --primarily prairie habitat on the western side of the state. The Ozarks East and Ozarks West regions are marked by steep, rugged hillsides and rocky soils. The western Ozark region has more farmland than its eastern cousin. Finally, the Mississippi Lowlands are just that -- wide, open farmlands along the Big Muddy in the boot-heel of Missouri.

A thorough look at spring harvest data from the 2007 season and spring productivity numbers from 2008 within these regions helps to provide a great deal of inside information on hunting prospects for this year. Read on to determine how your favorite turkey hunting spot stacks up against other regions and counties in Missouri. You may decide to change your hunting spot -- or you may be happy to stay put!