first ROI property

[Bszweda]

Hey guys,

I have a contract pending (hopefully the virus situation doesn't mess it up) on my first ROI property in northern Missouri.(71ish acres) 51 of it being tillable. The woods is pretty much all drainage / draw. Not sure how good of a hunting property it will be with it being open and not wooded. I might have a good shot in early season when crops are still in. If you guys have any recommendations on tree stand spots or gun/tower stands it would be much appreciated. I was thinking about asking the farmer if he would leave a few acres of crops standing, if I compensated him for it.(Any idea how much I should offer him per acre of crop?)

Thanks,
Brad

 

[Mortenson]

Looks awesome! That'll for sure be an early season factory, but I think it'll be good much beyond that also. So did you get this instead of the one you're looking at in IN?

 

[buckdeer1]

Nice looking place,looks like lots of cover across road,hopefully doesn't mean alot of road kills.If you didn't want to pay farmer just plant some areas in back of coves he can't get to.Or simplest may be to cash rent and then work it out say deduct an acre that he pays for for an acre he leaves.He will receive the payments for the acreage

 

[Bszweda]

Looks awesome! That'll for sure be an early season factory, but I think it'll be good much beyond that also. So did you get this instead of the one you're looking at in IN?

Yeah I got this one instead of the Indiana property. The taxes/costs in Indiana were too much for a small plot of land we wouldn't be using for a long time.

 

[Mortenson]

Well congrats. How many acres of it are you willing to sacrifice for standing crops, plots and cover? Could really do some crafting on that piece. If you take 1 of the biggest coves and make a block of switch/shrubs/trees it could provide some shelter for a family or 2 of deer, and also a little hideout maybe during rifle seasons. Looks like enough draws you should hopefully be able to find decent trees for stands in all winds.

 

[Bill]

Where any of those fingers meets the main drainage is going to be good. I’d clover the X.

the two circles at the road are going to be natural crossings. I have a stand like this 40 yards off the road and it’s a great spot.

 

[Bill]

I’d offer to pay him what the elevator is paying per bushel when he harvests and at per acre bushel amount he’s harvested off the field(s)

farmer makes the same $ with a bit less work.

 

[Bill]

One more thing. Those circle will be hottest from the second week of October until lock down.

 

[bwoods11]

Congrats .. I saw that farm on the market and thought it looked like a fair price! Good luck

 

[Bszweda]

I’d offer to pay him what the elevator is paying per bushel when he harvests and at per acre bushel amount he’s harvested off the field(s)

farmer makes the same $ with a bit less work.

Thanks for the tip that makes a lot of sense. How many acres do you think I should try and keep?

 

[swat1018]

Not sure I want to sit 40 yds off of 136, lol. The way your farm lies between woodlands, I think the travel will be descent during the pre rut. The population in MO is still high enough, that there is deer in most available habitat, with some good bucks that lay claim to a draw between a couple fields and rarely leave. I cut a deal with my farmer for an acre of standing corn/year when we were due to negotiate rent, in lieu of a raise in rent. He seemed happy, I know I am. On my other farm I have 3 small food plots, 2 ac, 1 ac, 1 ac. He farmed all three and harvested one of the 1 ac.

 

[Bszweda]

Not sure I want to sit 40 yds off of 136, lol. The way your farm lies between woodlands, I think the travel will be descent during the pre rut. The population in MO is still high enough, that there is deer in most available habitat, with some good bucks that lay claim to a draw between a couple fields and rarely leave. I cut a deal with my farmer for an acre of standing corn/year when we were due to negotiate rent, in lieu of a raise in rent. He seemed happy, I know I am. On my other farm I have 3 small food plots, 2 ac, 1 ac, 1 ac. He farmed all three and harvested one of the 1 ac.

The main draw back of this property is its on 136. (hopefully it doesn't shutdown all movement between that block of timber) It was a compromise I was willing to make due to cost of property and the amount tillable.

 

[Bill]

Not sure I want to sit 40 yds off of 136, lol. The way your farm lies between woodlands, I think the travel will be descent during the pre rut. The population in MO is still high enough, that there is deer in most available habitat, with some good bucks that lay claim to a draw between a couple fields and rarely leave. I cut a deal with my farmer for an acre of standing corn/year when we were due to negotiate rent, in lieu of a raise in rent. He seemed happy, I know I am. On my other farm I have 3 small food plots, 2 ac, 1 ac, 1 ac. He farmed all three and harvested one of the 1 ac.

ha, good catch. I didn’t notice it was a blacktop road. I was thinking typical N.MO gravel road.
Still, they will cross there, they’ll just be quicker about it. But it might not be the most enjoyable sit so close to the road.

put a couple cameras there to see what’s crossing there.

 

[H20fwler]

Congrats, sweet looking property!

 

[MN Slick]

I know the area well. Is your ROI goal based on the yearly income or longer term value of the farm? If the latter I'd enroll it into CRP asap and make it a better hunting farm.

 

[j-bird]

What I can tell you is that in farm country where cover is hard to find....cover is king. Hunt all the major intersections of cover as this cover and the topography will mostly dictate the majority of the deer movement. You will also find that the inside corners or the heads of the drainages/points will deer where the deer tend to enter those fields as well. If the timber is fairly open - a 30 foot wide buffer of switchgrass can help the deer feel safe you help hide your movements in the open fields during hunting season as well. It also helps add some habitat diversity and some forbs as well. Tillibale land will help pay the bills but those edges near the woods will struggle to produce so a buffer like I mentioned may help increase your actual per acre rental rate even if the total acres goes down. You are walking a very similar line as I am. The money from the tillable you can;t walk away from, but you still want to do what you can for the habitat. Buffers and small isolated areas are great places where you can help both you and the farmer. Also consider multiple uses for any plotting. I do this as well....my "orchards" are also cool season perennial plots...it just takes more planning. I also overseed my summer annuals with brassica and cereal grains to again try to get as much out of a small piece of dirt as I can in a years time. You will also find that the deer will tend to use the same route year after year if they can....so look for old sign and make notes of it....more than likely it will be very similar next year as well.

 

[bwoods11]

At times the draws in those small farms can hold a big buck during the rut. He pushes a doe away from the others in those draws, for seclusion. I have seen that in Iowa, similar habitat.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

Yeah I got this one instead of the Indiana property. The taxes/costs in Indiana were too much for a small plot of land we wouldn't be using for a long time.

Do you mind if I asked what you paid per acre? If not on here than as a PM? I will be making some offers on a couple of farms east of there this summer and would love to get a more up-to-date number. Congrats, by the way! It's really good looking farm!

 

[Bszweda]

Well due to the Cronoavirus it looks like I won't be purchasing this farm. My offer was contingent on my property selling and my buyer backed out due to his job being impacted by the Cronoavirus. It sucks big time, but at least I got his earnest money.

 

[roymunson]

That's a kick in the pants. Especially when you're mentally rolling that way.

I just signed the closing papers today on a new piece and monday I met a one man band farmer out there and got him to put in beans and corn and leave some stand.