Food Plots and Land Management Articles

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Top 5 Things to Know about Brassica Food Plots

August 1, 2022   |  From Articles

If you’ve paid attention to the hunting media in the past decade, you know that brassicas have received a lot of praise. Brassicas are fast-growing annual forages that provide excellent nutrition for deer. When deer catch on to the palatability and attraction of brassicas, few plants can influence a herd...

How to Plant a Killer Dove Field

June 2, 2022   |  From Articles

There was about an hour of flight light left when I pulled into Kerry Wix’s driveway. He met me in appropriate September attire, shorts and Crocs, and asked if I wanted to see the field before it got dark. Six acres of dead sunflower stalks and bare dirt doesn’t look...

How to Plant a Deer Orchard

June 2, 2022   |  From Articles

Lush fields of clover, alfalfa and brassicas aren’t the only crops that will hold deer on your property. Once established, fruit trees can produce highly attractive forage for 40 years or more. The right trees produce edible fruit throughout the entire hunting season, drawing deer from a distance and holding...

What to Know About Your First Controlled Burn

February 7, 2022   |  From Articles

An unexpected wind swirl whipped the flames of what had been a slow backfire and sent them suddenly quartering uphill and across the field, full of dormant broom sage and plume grass. My buddy Danny and I were standing on top of the hill, next to a box blind, leaning...

5 Trapping Baits Nest-Raiding Raccoons Can’t Resist

February 4, 2022   |  From Articles

Raccoons are cute, clever, and turkey-egg-eating specialists. Studies have shown that a dense raccoon population can have a real impact on localized turkey hatches and brood rearing success. Keep that in mind while also considering that turkey populations are struggling in some areas of the country, especially in the Southeast...

Maintenance Tips for Food Plot Equipment

September 4, 2021   |  From Articles

It had been a hot, dry summer. August was drawing to a close and we needed to get our fall food plots in. The forecast was promising. The remnants of a hurricane were set to pass over our farm in central Kentucky with slow, soaking rains for the next three...

7 Best Land Improvements for Wild Turkeys

March 16, 2021   |  From Articles

The average turkey hunter would probably be shocked at how few mature gobblers their land produces each year. World-renowned turkey researcher Michael Chamberlain explains it like this: “Let’s say you have 100 hens in your population. “80 of them attempt a nest — not all do. “Around 20% hatch at...

8 Things Land Managers Should Be Doing Right Now

May 28, 2020   |  From Articles

The skeeters are biting and humidity is climbing. Summer is almost here, and if we don’t get to work now, it’ll be over before we know it. Here are eight things hunting-land managers should be doing right now to get a jump on deer season. 1. Maintaining Treestands Treestand falls...

The Carnivore’s Guide to Planting a Garden

April 15, 2020   |  From Articles

If we can see any type of silver lining in recent events, it’s that everyone realizes just how important it is to supply as much of your own food as possible. Because most of us already hunt and fish, we’re ahead of the curve. But there are other ways to...

How to Buy Farm and Work Boots

April 6, 2020   |  Brought to you by Irish Setter

Farming isn’t just a job; it’s a passion. Living on the farm means no clocking out at the end of the day. You need boots that can go the distance – boots with the support and protection needed to focus on the challenges of getting the work done. While most...

How to Build a Buck Bedding Area

February 5, 2020   |  From Articles

We all need a place to lay our heads after a long day. The same goes for big, mature bucks. But not all private land has adequate bedding cover to hold deer during legal shooting hours. Fortunately, in many places — and for many budgets — that can be fixed...

Do Cedar Trees Make Good Deer Habitat?

January 13, 2020   |  From Articles

Many deer hunters wonder about eastern red cedars. Do they make wildlife habitat better or worse? Across much of the eastern United States, there are massive stands of them. Do you leave those, or cut them down? Here’s what to know. A Case for Red Cedars Cedars can be assets...

How to Hog Proof Your Feeders

December 23, 2019   |  From Articles

Feral hogs have been around for long enough that just about everyone is aware of the destruction they cause. Invasive pigs wreck the land and edge out native wildlife, and the consensus is that total sounder removal is the best way to combat the invasion. But I can tell you...

Best Tools for Low-Budget Food Plotters

December 18, 2019   |  From Articles

Today’s deer hunters are more focused on managing their hunting properties than ever before. But habitat improvement isn’t always easy, and it rarely comes cheap. But there are tricks and tools you can use that cost a little less money, but still help get the job done . First, the...

How to Kill Invasive Trees

December 18, 2019   |  From Articles

There are plenty of good reasons to kill a bad tree. If you’re a wildlife habitat manager, selectively eliminating low-value trees – essentially, those that have little mast production or timber benefit – is one of the most cost-efficient things you can do to improve your property. Removing those trees...

Do Poor Man Food Plots Really Work?

December 16, 2019   |  From Articles

Hunters and land managers have been using the term “poor man plots” for more than a decade, but they’ve been putting these in the ground for much longer. So, it begs the question, does this method meet the hype? Or, is it just a good play on words? Realtree 365...

You've Got Hogs on Your Place. Now What?

December 13, 2019   |  From Articles

The first feral hogs appeared on our Alabama farm in 2004. That was a single sow with piglets. We shot the sow, but the young ones disappeared. By 2010, the hogs had launched an all-out assault. The corn and chufa we planted for deer and turkeys were rooted and destroyed...

How Bees Can Help Your Hunting

December 2, 2019   |  From Articles

Honeybees are a great asset for wildlife managers. Installing beehives on your property will increase food plot production, improve production in native and cultivated fruit trees, and generally thicken cover across your property. The Case for Pollinators “Honeybees play a critical role in our development of new plant varieties for...

Our Dirt: Creating a Deer Hunter’s Paradise

October 16, 2019   |  From Articles

Proper land management is like a good marriage. The more you put into it, the more you get out of it. Improvements are slow to materialize, and best measured over time. It’s a lot of work, but the rewards make it all worthwhile. Habitat is a living, breathing thing. It...

7 Best Food Plot Shapes for Bowhunting Whitetails

August 9, 2019   |  From Articles

Squares and rectangles and circles ... oh my. Food plots shaped like that are almost as scary as lions and tigers and bears. Trust me, I’ve planted a lot of them. They can work but if you’re a bowhunter, strategically shaping your plots will maximize the odds of close-range encounters...

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