Moving Sanctuaries.

[TAS]

dhines,

JMO, but if all they are planting is 35 acres out of 1400 and they are leasing it from you to do it..good deal! Thats 35 acres that is getting planted and not costing you a penny. The soybean years will help the deer before it matures and the corn years will leave some after the combine is done. Thats a win-win in my book.

Personally I would work on some of the clearcuts, plant a variety of food plots and leave the hardwoods alone.

 

[dhines]

dhines,

JMO, but if all they are planting is 35 acres out of 1400 and they are leasing it from you to do it..good deal! Thats 35 acres that is getting planted and not costing you a penny. The soybean years will help the deer before it matures and the corn years will leave some after the combine is done. Thats a win-win in my book.

Personally I would work on some of the clearcuts, plant a variety of food plots and leave the hardwoods alone.

I'm sure that's closer to what we should be doing. It just sucks to see that rich river bottom sitting without any food source or cover for 3/4 of the year.

 

[Stick'n'String]

About 900 acres are rough, hilly 10 year-old clear-cuts and about 75 acres is a 4 year old clear cut.

Are these the areas replanted in pines?

 

[dhines]

About 900 acres are rough, hilly 10 year-old clear-cuts and about 75 acres is a 4 year old clear cut.

Are these the areas replanted in pines?

Unfortunately, almost all of the clearcuts are planted in pines.

 

[BSK]

We have a total of about 1400 acres. About 50 acres are fields - maybe 35 of which are river bottom planted in corn/soy. The remaining fields are either food plots or left to natural browse. About 900 acres are rough, hilly 10 year-old clear-cuts and about 75 acres is a 4 year old clear cut. The remaining 300 or so acres are hardwoods.

Based on the replies, I'm guessing what you'd recommend is leaving the ag stuff and focus on continuing to open up hardwoods and the aging clearcuts?

Yes, at this point, you don't need anymore cover. You already have too much.

Ask the farmer if it would be "out of bounds" to plant some long, narrow strip food plots along the edges of those ag- fields once they've been harvested. I would look at 20 to 30-yard wide strip plots running along the woods edge away from the river side and running the length of the fields. Even a simply cerela grain mixture (wheat and oats) would be sufficient.