Hayfield to habitat Suggestion wanted

[Nontypcl1]

I'm looking for suggestions on what to do with a 22 acre hayfield that is coming out of lease this next summer. I'm really just in the very beginnings of planning so I'm open to any suggestions.

The property totals 130 acres of rolling hills with some deep ravines in the timber. It has approx 60 acres of mature hardwoods with another 10 acres that consists of a stand of mixed soft and hardwoods. The remainder is made up of approx 35 acres of wild flowers and a mix of short prairie grasses and then the 20 acres that is coming out of lease. There are 2 creeks that run through the property and also a small pond that is located in a wooded draw on the west side. There are also approx 5-6 acres planted in food plots located throughout the property.

There really isn't much of a designated bedding area anywhere on the property. However, I'm in the process of transforming approx 2 acres into a bedding thicket thru hinge cutting and shrub plantings. That area is located just off the SE corner of the hayfield.

As for my ideas on the what to do with the field. I've been contemplating on planting it all into NWSG. I'm not set on this but I do like the idea of providing habitat for upland birds as well as deer. On thing I definitely plan on doing is converting 5-6 acres of the field into a solid stand of CIR switch. I also may want to enroll the remainder of the area into a conservation program such as WHIP or CRP.

The below picture is an aerial of the property. The green marks current food plots, the blue outlines an area I plan on converting into conventional alfalfa and the purple is the field in question. Also directly sw of the property is a 900 acre block of timber that consists of mature hardwoods with some cedar and hedge thickets.

Also, in contrast to the rest of the area the field is about as flat as can be but has good drainage

So what would you do with this area?

 

[letemgrow]

When it comes to open areas, I always think NWSG. If it was my farm, I would plant switch all along the roadsides for a nice screen and leave part of the back half open for a 3-4 acre clover plot and 3-4 acres of standing beans. In between the clover/beans and switch by the road, I would go with a good mix of nwsg's and forbes that are deer/quail friendly. My ultimate mix would be, switch, big blue, indian for uplands, gama and prairie cord for any drainages, the forbes would be illinois bundleflower, partridge pea, purple and white prairie clover, showy tick trefoil, illinois tick trefoil, slender lespedeza, roundhead lespedeza, lead plant, blazing star and showy beardtongue. Most of those are legumes so they will also help build the soil and have deep roots to handle dry periods.

 

[letemgrow]

also I would include a few acres of the short grass prairie and use side oats grama, little bluestem and prairie dropseed for the grasses and go with the above mentioned forbes. These grasses can still be plenty tall for bedded deer (3 ft) and give that added edge to an open field between the short and tall grass prairie.

 

[dbltree]

short and tall grass prairie

:way::way:

 

[Hardwood11]

I would keep some or all of the 22 acres in food.... personally after looking at the aerial, I would rent the land out to a farmer if it qualifies for corn/soybean rotation. Then in exchange for less rent, leave 2-4 acres of corn or soybeans. That may not be habitat but it will bring in deer. Rent can be anywhere from $75-$200 an acre and you can use that money to buy trees, or food plot seed. Just a suggestion

 

[JEG]

I would plant the NWSG from the road to the woods maybe leaving 2-3 acres out for additional food plots close to the timber. Dont know what soil type you have but if you go with a good mix for your area you should be in good shape. With a mix certain plant will thrive in certain parts of the field. Try to have as much diversity as you can afford it will pay off in the long run and buy local genotype seeds. Check out prairie moon's website and get there catalog, very helpfull.

 

[letemgrow]

Prairie moon is a great website for natives!! There are a couple others I would add too depending on what you want. The prices can bounce from each website for certain species. The prairie moon catalog/website is phenominal for information on how to get seeds to germinate, soil types they like and where to plant them sun wise.

www.easywildflowers.com

www.mowildflowers.net

http://www.buffalobrandseed.com/

 

[JEG]

Another thing you could do if your not opposed to something permanate, is plant trees along the road to create a screen. Maybe a evergreen/shrub mix the game birds would appreciate it :way:. Then plant the native grasses/forbs and food plots closer to the timber. Looks like a fun project!!

 

[Nontypcl1]

Another thing you could do if your not opposed to something permanate, is plant trees along the road to create a screen. Maybe a evergreen/shrub mix the game birds would appreciate it :way:. Then plant the native grasses/forbs and food plots closer to the timber. Looks like a fun project!!

A shrub/evergreen mix for some pheasant cover that doubles as a screen is definitely in the plans. I will probably also leave 5-6 acres for additional food plots as others have suggested. Not sure how this will work out but I would ideally like to plant half of the remaining 15-16 acres into a quality NWSG mix and the other half into a solid CIR switch planting.

Whats everyone's thoughts on how this would work with a solid CIR and a mix being planted so close together? Would the CIR eventually become established in the mix and take over?

I've also thought about leaving some strips open through the NWSG to plant a few strips of Milo and sunflowers. Then again I might just plant the milo and sunflowers around the perimeter of certain areas.

Thanks for all the suggestions! Keep em coming :way: Still have a lot of planning to do

 

[JEG]

In my opinion your limiting your habitat possibilities by planting just switch in an area. Sure its good cover and provides some feed for birds but I'll take a native tallgrass mix with lots of forbs anytime over pure switch. And yes Switch is somewhat invasive which isnt a bad thing so to answer your question the switch could somewhat take over a NWSG planting over time. To me its all about diversity. Big blue, and indian grass can get over 6' tall and mine holds up great to ice and snow. We've had ice storm and its laying flat, a day later the sun hits it and it bounces back like nothing ever happened. If you dont like the tall natives cut back on the tall grass % and go with shorter stuff but the deer sure do dissapear in the tall natives. Good Luck!!