My plans for our land

Me too!
Turkey Lottery results link.

I’m in If I’m lucky enough to harvest one, I’m thinking of smoking it for deer camp.

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Me too!
Turkey Lottery results link.

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Ditto here!
Maybee # 3 with a bow!

will be able to buy em over the counter in wis 1 per day i think

Smoked my first one this spring. Talk about good eats!!

I got lazy this spring, took it in and had it cleaned and smoke all for $28.00

Here is what our land looks like today.

In 2012, we will be adding trees to the south side of the 160. We will be adding another box blind to the property. This areas is great for morning hunts as the deer head back to their beds. I’ll also be planting a couple telephone poles and adding ladder stands to the 80. The trees are 10 years old and simply won’t hold a stand for many years to come. However, I think the Russian olives will provide enough back ground to conceal me in the ladders.

In 2013, I plan to add one more box blind. Other than that we will focus on crop rotation and food plots.

In 2014, I plan to add trees to the west side of the 160 and also add a water hole to this section of the property. We have a neighbor with a backhoe who can dig us a nice little dug out. That will likely be the extent of the budget for this year.

I’m having a hard time visualizing much beyond the next 3 years. Likely add a few stands here and there. But the primary focus after 2014 will be minor tweaks or as Bob Bergeson so eloquently termed it, Deer Time Management. How to I trick the bucks to stay and stay longer…

I’ll also continue my experimentation with crop rotations in the near term. Lots of stuff we have tried has failed for one reason or another. Not that I’m ruling out Brasicas for example, but now I’m focusing on what could we have done to create success vs. failure? We don’t use much fertilizer. We haven’t done soil samples in the past. All areas we need to work into the budget if we want success.

What do you guys think? I’m open to any and all suggestions. Keys for you to think about, we are in an agriculture/cattle area. We have a very small amount of land and the deer tend to roam quite a bit in SD.

Looks like a solid plan. I had MANY years of learning experiences (failure) before I got a few things done right. I think the 3 year plan is ideal. It gives you time to evaluate and study jthings that arte working, and how to make them better. Things that don’t work can be tweaked or eliminated. I like the water sources you have on there. That’s the one thing my farm is lacking. My 5 year goal it to find a way to fill a few cracks in the bedrock and have a couple small ponds

Here is an aerial view from Google Earth.

I like how you plan that far ahead and it all seems like good ideas that will play their part in time. Not that it’s funny, but it’s funny how the lack of mature trees is a problem . It is just one of those things I cannot picture while deer hunting? Have you given any thought to permanent shooting huts on ground level? If there were good places where the terrain gave you just enough elevation to see over the grass? We could easily build and place 2-3 of those in a day… Minus the windows!

Looks like a great plan !

Kooty, Looks looks like you have a pretty good plan For many years I concentrated strictly on food plots and had what I would call a “RUT” farm I held allot of does around my place but I didn’t provide the security needed to hold the Mature bucks on my property.It was only when I added security (Bedding areas) that I am now able to hold mature bucks on my property. that being said If I had to follow a strict budget I would concentrate my money and efforts into the cover that will need time to grow instead of all the large food plots, I have been using red cedar in my sandy dry areas with great success. I will promise you one thing… cover will win 100% of the time over food when it comes to holding Deer on your property once the cover is in place add the food and nobody in your area will compete with your piece of heaven

Looks like a great plan Kooty! I think planting all those trees out there will pay big dividends for you in that landscape.

like what I see Kooty!

Here are some things to think about:

I noticed you have some pretty large food plots (20 acre, a 4 acre and a 3 acre). You may want to consider breaking those food plots into small pieces. 4 well placed food plots surrounded by bedding on your property will be more beneficial than 1 large one. It allows the deer on your property to segregate and it helps prevent competition (bucks chasing off other bucks). The does will also benefit and gives them more options and security when feeding. I also like to see different food sources planted on each individual food plot versus having one with corn, one with beans one, one with brassica etc… This will ensure that the deer will use each food plot year round and help prevent overgrazing on a food plot and again helps eliminate competition amongst the bucks. By placing these smaller food plots in strategic areas, it will also help separate your bedding areas. Again, multiple bedding areas are better than one big one for the same reasons above.

I also noticed that your two parcels are “kitty corner” to each other. It’s good to see that there’s already an established travel route going between the two tracts of land. I would play really close attention to these corners and would do everything I could to promote the deer to cross back and forth. This would include building a sanctuary with adequate cover and security so the deer feel safe traveling through this area. I would also try and eliminate anyone from entering and exiting through this area.