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My new 40

entropyfx

entropyfx

Active Member
Well, pulled the trigger on a great little piece only 25 minutes from my house. 40 acres, bought the best tract in my mind for deer and turkey.

10 acres tillable. 20 acres ish of trees, and 10 acres of grass/bottom ground with a creek.

I won't take possession until the fall, so I probably won't be able to do much other than a late plot this year. Trying to get ideas on how to set it up for management.

I've been deer hunting all my life, but this is the first piece I have bought and will really be able to manage as it is so close to home. Our family ground is a long way away.

First photo is the rough boundaries, 2nd is the larger area neighboring.

First, if I put a small cabin close to the road, do you think it would be an issue? Not like there would be a ton of traffic.

Second, I may think about putting a pond down in the bottom, would have to do some for digging into that.

What would you prioritize for management?

Debating CRP vs cash rent (don't care about the money as I do the hunting).

Think about leaving the north trees as a sanctuary. Maybe a stand down on that T in the bottom lands and several on the field edge.

Thanks in advance for the advice.
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Hunt it this fall, see how it lays. I’d think more along the lines of staying in crop, but hard to say. Depends on what you have around you.

As far as a cabin, tough call. If you live close, cabin just be a getaway?
 
Hardwood11 said:
Hunt it this fall, see how it lays. I’d think more along the lines of staying in crop, but hard to say. Depends on what you have around you.

As far as a cabin, tough call. If you live close, cabin just be a getaway?
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Cabin would just be a getaway, and place to maybe crash during hunting season if i am hunting for a few days. Mostly pasture around me, some crop on the piece mine is attached to and just to the north.

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entropyfx said:
Well, pulled the trigger on a great little piece only 25 minutes from my house. 40 acres, bought the best tract in my mind for deer and turkey.

10 acres tillable. 20 acres ish of trees, and 10 acres of grass/bottom ground with a creek.

I won't take possession until the fall, so I probably won't be able to do much other than a late plot this year. Trying to get ideas on how to set it up for management.

I've been deer hunting all my life, but this is the first piece I have bought and will really be able to manage as it is so close to home. Our family ground is a long way away.

First photo is the rough boundaries, 2nd is the larger area neighboring.

First, if I put a small cabin close to the road, do you think it would be an issue? Not like there would be a ton of traffic.

Second, I may think about putting a pond down in the bottom, would have to do some for digging into that.

What would you prioritize for management?

Debating CRP vs cash rent (don't care about the money as I do the hunting).

Think about leaving the north trees as a sanctuary. Maybe a stand down on that T in the bottom lands and several on the field edge.

Thanks in advance for the advice.
f746cdbf2d685f4298c4b29d29482f4e.jpg
2a0cbb3b179d5a89832e0f4f33500cf5.jpg


Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

First off, congrats! I bought my first hunting farm about 7 years ago and there aren’t too many better feelings in the world than finally having your own dirt. That excitement and sense of pride still hasn’t gone away for me.

On the cabin, I don’t think it would hurt much. It looks like you could keep it right up by the road and away from the majority of the prime habitat.

On the crp vs cash rent, based on what you are saying it sounds like there may not be a lot of food in your surrounding properties (and it looks like you have some good grassy bedding type areas along the creek already) so I think I’d want to keep that tillable in food as much as possible. I pay a local farmer his input costs to plant/spray/fertilize about an 8 acre field for me and I leave it up all winter. In the spring he discs it all under and starts over. The way the woods sets back on the eastern half of the tillable on yours I think I’d probably run some sort of screen (plant some trees, or possibly some tall grasses) running e/w from point to point of where the field juts back in. Maybe cash rent the field outside of that but have him leave standing the crop inside this new secluded field each year. That cove on the east end of the field looks like a perfect food plot area as well. Just my 2 cents. The fun though is doing whatever you think will best improve the habitat and hunting though so doesn’t matter what any of us think haha!! Enjoy the heck out of it!!!
 
Rous14 said:
First off, congrats! I bought my first hunting farm about 7 years ago and there aren’t too many better feelings in the world than finally having your own dirt. That excitement and sense of pride still hasn’t gone away for me.

On the cabin, I don’t think it would hurt much. It looks like you could keep it right up by the road and away from the majority of the prime habitat.

On the crp vs cash rent, based on what you are saying it sounds like there may not be a lot of food in your surrounding properties (and it looks like you have some good grassy bedding type areas along the creek already) so I think I’d want to keep that tillable in food as much as possible. I pay a local farmer his input costs to plant/spray/fertilize about an 8 acre field for me and I leave it up all winter. In the spring he discs it all under and starts over. The way the woods sets back on the eastern half of the tillable on yours I think I’d probably run some sort of screen (plant some trees, or possibly some tall grasses) running e/w from point to point of where the field juts back in. Maybe cash rent the field outside of that but have him leave standing the crop inside this new secluded field each year. That cove on the east end of the field looks like a perfect food plot area as well. Just my 2 cents. The fun though is doing whatever you think will best improve the habitat and hunting though so doesn’t matter what any of us think haha!! Enjoy the heck out of it!!!
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That is close to what I have in my head right now, that cove screams putting in a food plot.

I like the idea of leaving in crop all year!

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Congrats!!! U be a while before crp. Need to own a year & maybe or maybe not sign up. If crops planted - buy back some standing crops for sure!!!! Dbltree forum here if u can do any plots. If do cabin- id do one on the edge where least amount of impact. No where near bedding & feed for sure in my strong opinion.
first year of ownership if it were mine off top of head.... get forester out & get some tsi done!! Keep around 3 types of food out there... clover alfalfa, dbltree rotation & grains. Lots of patrolling on road & with cameras both gun seasons to make sure no issues - 1st year is a bugger some times. Learn it how deer travel & use it & try and do it without over pressuring it. set up stands for multiple spots for any wind direction. Perfect access & am/pm set ups. Learn that place. IMO- takes 3 years to fully figure a farm out.
All great advice above. Especially on cabin being by the road away from stuff & food & habitat thoughts. & yep- lots of options if u find farmers willing to help u that wanna make a little $. Talk around on maybe some younger ambitious guys & get a plan way way before season so u aint scrambling last minute.
congrats on a dream maker purchase!!
 
Yeah, I've just been reading a ton trying to do it right from the start. Gonna plant that east end in winter rye and brassica as soon as the crop is out, and likely leave it at that this year. Hut the fall and see, then start next spring getting some stuff done. Have a QDMA guy coming out after I take possession. Might do a little hiking around a few times this summer trying to get the lie of the land.

Thinking about taking the QDMA deer 1 course as well. Been a hunter for a long time, time to start trying to help manage.

Will have it well posted and cameras, got good neighbors to watch for me also.

Thanks for all the advice!
 
There are few things I love more than taking a blank canvas and sculpting it to a whitetail paradise. You're going to have a blast.

Agree on keeping cabin as far away as possible. It'll have a huge impact.

IMO one of the first things I'd do is screen that road. Trees, mitchcanthus, etc. Run Egyptian wheat or forage sorghum for 3 years until other plants are tall enough.

Behind the screen I'd probably put that field into CRP, or at least the south half. I don't want deer feeding anywhere that they can be seen or disturbed from a road. I'd put standing grain behind the CRP. Play those north winds for late season.

Tons of options on east side. Think you can create some funnels thru structure. This will bow hunt very well imo and sets up well for westerly winds.

You have one of the key things that i look for in a farm of this size. I like the bulk of my cover north & west. If you can sweet talk north neighbor for access, you have some great south options as well. I'd be working on that with busch lattes asap. ;)
 
Screening the road is very important. We did that in MN on a busy road, and it changed everything as far as wildlife movement.
 
I totally agree. Planning on planting screens along the road, and I like the idea of planting tall grass until they mature.

Eventually I'll put the cabin in the SW corner, and then screen it well with evergreens. It won't see a ton of traffic, just a place to stay when working on it or hunting for a few days in a row. And storage for a tractor and equipment. But thats in the 5-10 yr plan anyway.

I think as soon as I can this fall I'll disk up that little east piece into brassica and winter rye for this fall.

I would eventually like to plant a few rows of fruit trees to screen that piece off.

Man, I cannot wait to get in there and hike around, been reading everything I can find about land management.
 
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