Start of Food Plot Adventures - Help from you Pro's!

[NewTimber]

So I have never setup land or built food plots ever in my life. I am lucky that I have to young sons to help me in this adventure. My goal is to do it right the first time and get it right for a life time of hunting and enjoyment.

For context:
Total acreage is 60.57
The lime green areas are the large food plots. About 2 or there acres each, about
The red areas next to the main food plots are to be kill plots.
The small blue areas are the Boys to bed, represents an area we're multiple beds will be created.
The small pink areas are for the girls to bed.
The round Blue area will hopefully be a home sight some day.

I still have entry trails and stand placement to mock up but stands will be located near the kill plots.

Wind is mainly NE or SE
White arrow points to North

I am developing along the lines of Jeff Sturgis "Food Plot Success by Design."
I am looking for any insight, recommendations, and experienced thoughts.
It's all general in shape as I plan to work with what the land gives me after the loggers select cut the 60 and give me the base of the plots.

Picture attached.

Thank you all,
Newtimber

Let me know if more info is need should I have left something out.




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[Triple C]

NewTimber...I'm assuming you're a new land owner. If my assumption is correct, all I can say is enjoy the journey and jump in with both feet! I've been at it since 2011 and still love the journey. But...the early years were extra special. It was more of a sense of discovery in the early years. Now I feel like I know every tree and rock on my property. Only advice I will offer is take your time developing your plan. Your thoughts will change over time. I'm a big fan of big linear plots. Easier to work and will attract a bunch of deer. If it were me, I'd start with the you've laid out north to south and get it where you want it prior to doing others. Maybe pull it a little closer to what looks like an interior road running south to north.

 

[lakngolf]

Enjoy. If you are brand new to the land just throw some grain seed in logging areas this year and observe. I'm not sure the boys and girls will exactly cooperate with you

 

[CTM1]

As others have told me. Soil tests first as that will help guide you with what can and cannot be done and give you costs.
Again as others told me, it is not a race, but a marathon. Do not feel the need to do it all at once.

Good luck and enjoy the journey.

 

[Mennoniteman]

A nice property. Your layout looks good. Deer will bed where they please, as in, the place with the thickest cover where they get disturbed the least. And the family groups will usually not bed that close to the fields, and usually not where we expect them to, although if conditions are right they do bed right in fields sometimes. Is the white line a stream? Where is the closest year round water supply? Water is critical.

 

[Fish]

I love and share your excitement! Only advice i will give is to observe how deer respond to what you do this year, and then you start tweaking next year.
Im on year 4 with a new property and the tweaking isnt going to be over for a long time. . And thats the beauty of it.

For instance..... i moved that stand down the hollow 60 yards. Well they still smell me?
And i opened up another food plot on the southwest end of the property. Will that help or hurt me? Man i cant wait to find out!

 

[NewTimber]

A nice property. Your layout looks good. Deer will bed where they please, as in, the place with the thickest cover where they get disturbed the least. And the family groups will usually not bed that close to the fields, and usually not where we expect them to, although if conditions are right they do bed right in fields sometimes. Is the white line a stream? Where is the closest year round water supply? Water is critical.

Yes, the white line is a stream that leads to a 20 foot "V" shape ridge area. The yellow line is a trail that I plan to have lead to the top of that side. Thanks for the Dow bedding info, I will redesign them to push them back a 25 to 50 yards. Booth the boys and girls bed areas are where I plan to do bed improvements, but, yes if the pick better spots that works for me as well. The back line that is all squiggly is also a creak, there are 16' straight up drop offs with passable openings in between a few areas. Both creaks a wet year around.


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[NewTimber]

I love and share your excitement! Only advice i will give is to observe how deer respond to what you do this year, and then you start tweaking next year.
Im on year 4 with a new property and the tweaking isnt going to be over for a long time. . And thats the beauty of it.

For instance..... i moved that stand down the hollow 60 yards. Well they still smell me?
And i opened up another food plot on the southwest end of the property. Will that help or hurt me? Man i cant wait to find out!

Thanks man great advice, and yes, another post described it as a marathon, one I will enjoy.


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[NewTimber]

NewTimber...I'm assuming you're a new land owner. If my assumption is correct, all I can say is enjoy the journey and jump in with both feet! I've been at it since 2011 and still love the journey. But...the early years were extra special. It was more of a sense of discovery in the early years. Now I feel like I know every tree and rock on my property. Only advice I will offer is take your time developing your plan. Your thoughts will change over time. I'm a big fan of big linear plots. Easier to work and will attract a bunch of deer. If it were me, I'd start with the you've laid out north to south and get it where you want it prior to doing others. Maybe pull it a little closer to what looks like an interior road running south to north.

Ah, that is a creak that runs through the middle of the property.


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[NewTimber]

So you all know, this is like a ten year plan I am putting together, the issue I have to take care of is the logging. I do not think it will be worth a loggers time for coming out a second time, am I wrong?


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[X-farmerdan]

You're plan shows you've put a lot of excellent thought into this! I know you mentioned Sturgis, but I'm sure there are other ideas and sources you considered as you developed your plan. I guess what I'm getting at is every plan is built on a lot of assumptions. Assumptions can be wild crazy or they can be based in reality.

If you were to do a complete and detailed inventory of the species of flora in your 60+ acres AND determine what the land use patterns around your property might be, will your assumptions and design still hold up? If the neighbor has better cover and food sources, why will deer visit your bed & breakfast? What does your setup provide that other areas do not? Can you tell me what the DPSM estimate is in your area? 20? 30? 60? On average you might expect 2, or 3, or 6 deer to frequent your establishment. Some days maybe more. Other days none at all?

 

[X-farmerdan]

So you all know, this is like a ten year plan I am putting together, the issue I have to take care of is the logging. I do not think it will be worth a loggers time for coming out a second time, am I wrong?


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In your initial post you mention 'select' cutting. Who gets to select? A logger is coming for the best stuff and the best stuff is probably what you want to keep? Conundrum. If you let the logger select, all you will have left are crap trees, probably of no use to your plan....something to consider.

 

[Michael R. Sweeney]

Be realistic about what you can do. It's not a sprint,it's a marathon. You will never be done. When it stops being fun( for you or the kids), stop.

 

[Mennoniteman]

So you all know, this is like a ten year plan I am putting together, the issue I have to take care of is the logging. I do not think it will be worth a loggers time for coming out a second time, am I wrong?


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You are correct, you want to log one time and then let it grow for twelve to twenty years. Logging goals vary, from maximum cash now to maximum logging income long term to maximum benefits for wildlife, which would mean not cutting certain trees like white oaks even if they are worth a lot of money. Clear-cut Logging to create thick cover in several areas can actually be the most potent deer management tool there is.

 

[Jeff H]

You're plan shows you've put a lot of excellent thought into this! I know you mentioned Sturgis, but I'm sure there are other ideas and sources you considered as you developed your plan. I guess what I'm getting at is every plan is built on a lot of assumptions. Assumptions can be wild crazy or they can be based in reality.

If you were to do a complete and detailed inventory of the species of flora in your 60+ acres AND determine what the land use patterns around your property might be, will your assumptions and design still hold up? If the neighbor has better cover and food sources, why will deer visit your bed & breakfast? What does your setup provide that other areas do not? Can you tell me what the DPSM estimate is in your area? 20? 30? 60? On average you might expect 2, or 3, or 6 deer to frequent your establishment. Some days maybe more. Other days none at all?

Something that I have learned to do and I think what x-farmerdan is getting at is to find what your property lacks and fill that void. Plug the lowest hole in the bucket first! This takes at least a year of observation to do and a knowledge of what's going on with the properties surrounding you.
Good luck to you!

 

[Jason Broom]

Combining two excellent pieces of advice, from above:

Spend the first year AFTER the cutting is done learning how deer and other wildlife use the modified landscape, because tweaking what they do naturally is much easier than getting them to do something different. Once you know their current behaviors, take inventory of what your property can offer, what surrounding properties offer, and what things are missing from the overall equation.

Since this process is going to continue indefinitely, learn as much as you can about permaculture ideas. Keep in mind that some things may take just a few weeks to implement, but years or even decades to undo. The best time to plant an oak tree is 50 years ago; the second best time is today. While you currently think of this as a "Food Plot Adventure", I can promise that if you pursue this long enough, you'll realize that food plots are just a small portion of what you should be focused on for long-term results.

Once the logging is done, take soil samples to determine where best to attempt food plots. Definitely think "linear" when laying out plots; it dramatically increases daytime usage and huntability. Once you know where you want to create long, winding plots, plan your ingress/egress accordingly. On smaller properties, careful planning of how you get in and out has a great deal to do with your overall hunting success.

Be flexible as you go through the process. Write up a 5-year plan, focused on the overall goals of what you're doing and what you would like to achieve. Expect the details of how you get there to change, over time. Be realistic in your expectations and recognize early on that "success" is best measured by the quality of experiences you and your family have on your property, NOT on the number of inches of antler a single buck might have. Include holistic goals in your planning, not just things that benefit deer. Read "Grow Em Right" by the Doughertys, but also read "A Sand County Almanac", by Leopold; there are distinct differences between a technical and philosophical approach to land management.

Every once in a while, for no particular reason at all, go for a walk through your property and SEE it. Embrace the miracle of what the Lord hath done, and recognize your humble role in, perhaps, augmenting it.

 

[Mennoniteman]

When you clear the fields I suggest getting something planted asap, as fallow ground tends to lose organic matter, nutrients, and erodes more. I'd plant rye or buckwheat as a starter, transition into clover, then get into a regular plot rotation from there.

 

[dogghr]

“I’d say the best thing we could do would be to double down, triple down on habitat,” she said. “We need to get away from this idea that tree-cutting is bad. We have a whole bunch of species that rely on young-forest habitat, and those species are in trouble. Landowners need to get away from high-grading their timber and consider taking out patches of forest, not just individual trees.

Can't add much to what been said, but I certainly would observe before making drastic changes. Deer do what they do for a reason and their manipulation to change travel or bedding areas if not always easy. Read everything Lickcreek wrote on plots, edge feathering, hingcuting, etc. Cant go wrong with his ideas.
As for the timbering, think that thru well and make your decision based on your needs, not what the logger wants, if you can afford to do so. The above quote if from our local DNR forester and I was surprised to see it. High grade logging has destroyed acorn habitat in the last 100 years more than any other factor. Take into account the insects and diseases that are affecting our forests, and good idea to retain whatever mature oaks that are worth saving. Remember, it can take 20-50 years for certain oak trees to produce. Great land you have, enjoy it and good luck.