Whitetail Deer Land Consulting Advice???

[John Paul]

My buddies and I have been discussing hiring an independent whitetail deer land consultant to come and walk my farm. I’m thinking about making a lot of changes to the farm in the near future e.g. enrolling some fields into CRP, putting some fallow fields back into cultivation, more food plots, etc. Before I do anything I’ve kicked around this idea of a consultant because now is the time to get one BEFORE starting on these projects so we don’t go down the wrong road. I like what Don Higgins has to say but he’s only a Midwest guy so it does make sense to get someone closer to me in Virginia. Anyone have any opinions about someone I call reach out to? Thanks in advance.

 

[Worm]

I am in Central Virginia ( Fluvanna County ). I am enrolled in the Quail Habitat Program through the USDA . It is a great program with cost share if you are approved . There are different programs depending on your goals . Look up " Habitat Assistance Programs under Virginia DWR " to get more information . I have been very pleased .

 

[Mennoniteman]

I like Jim Ward, but his website says not taking new clients at this time. Perhaps due to covid?

 

[farmer]

Matt dye from land and legacy is from your area he lives in Missouri now. Text or call me and I’ll give you his number.

 

[BenAllgood]

As said, the private lands biologist for the DWR in your area could be a great resource.

There are also guys on here that could give good real world input on practices and layouts that have brought them success if you want to post some maps and descriptions.

But, if I were going to hire a consultant, it would be Land and Legacy. And, like @farmer said, one of the owners is from Virginia. They also have done work in Virginia.

Good luck with whichever route you take!

 

[j-bird]

My choices would be Jim Ward or Jeff Sturgis. I have not used either, but I have attended property tours of Jim's. I agree in that if you are looking at making significant changes a plan is the first step. please share with us how it goes!

 

[bearcat]

I like watching the guys from Land and Legacy and Grant Woods. Has anyone on here had experience with Grant?

 

[howboutthemdawgs]

I like watching the guys from Land and Legacy and Grant Woods. Has anyone on here had experience with Grant?

Not first hand. Second hand, he basically tells you cut this, burn this, plant the buffalo system. That will be $10,000. Thats what he quoted a buddy. The guys that used him said you can learn all his advice from his growing deer videos.
Same guy used steve demaris from MSU. Said it was a good but also pricey. If I had the acreage I would hire Craig Harper.

 

[Cedar Ridge]

I like watching the guys from Land and Legacy and Grant Woods. Has anyone on here had experience with Grant?

I’ve had Matt Dye on my property and I found him to be extremely knowledgeable and helpful.

 

[John Paul]

Matt dye from land and legacy is from your area he lives in Missouri now. Text or call me and I’ll give you his number.

I’ll look him up thank you!

 

[John Paul]

I’ve had Matt Dye on my property and I found him to be extremely knowledgeable and helpful.

I just sent Matt Dye an email.

 

[BenAllgood]

Another thing to consider is contacting your local NRCS office about EQIP. A component in EQIP is a Forest Management Plan. This sets up a plan on how you want to manage your woods. You can interview the TSPs (technical service providers) that will write the plan. They can give you samples of plans they have written in the past. Some of the projects you can get funding for that they will pay you to do are access trails, bedding thickets, edge feathering, firebreaks, prescribed fires, TSI, etc. The list goes on and on. But, this would be handy to have even if you do hire a consultant because some of the things they will recommend you do are things you can get funding to do.

 

[John Paul]

I spoke with Matt Dye today on the phone. Nice guy and I liked what he had to say. Being that he grew up about 45 minutes north of our farm makes him a prime candidate in my book. I’ll let everyone know what we figure out and I will definitely put a map of the property on a new thread sometime and bring everyone along for the journey.

 

[John Paul]

Thank you to everyone for the suggestions.

 

[Elkaddict]

He might be too far away, but I was really pleased with Neil’s plan for us.
https://www.northcountrywhitetails.com/consulting.html

 

[Triple C]

I spoke with Matt Dye today on the phone. Nice guy and I liked what he had to say. Being that he grew up about 45 minutes north of our farm makes him a prime candidate in my book. I’ll let everyone know what we figure out and I will definitely put a map of the property on a new thread sometime and bring everyone along for the journey.

Good friend bought 600 acre farm in WV about 2 years ago. He had Matt and his team out to consult on his property and highly recommends him. I'm too stubborn and cheap to pay for a consultant and just learning from here and trial and error method. Half the fun.