Parcel Design advice sought

[WeedyJ]

So I thought I’d reach out to the experts. Fifteen years ago, I purchased 125 acres, but only started learning about management 4 or 5 years ago. This spring I added 175 acres and have made no improvements to date. There is a house located centrally in the now 300 acres.

The first pic is an aerial overview of my area. Most dark green is planted pine. Clearcuts exist as well as a few pastures which have cattle grazing. The closest ag field would not show up, as they are about 4 miles away.

The second pic is a closer look. County dirt road at the top and wetland with a creek at the bottom. Original property outlined in red, new in yellow. The magenta outlines about 70 acres of former pasture, which has varied pockets of thick blackberry, areas of pure big bluestem (which serves as switchgrass since we don’t get heavy snow to beat it down). Some areas, mainly on the right half of the pasture is still open grass with some 2 year early successional forbs and massive dog fennel. This is the area I need to restore to good early successional, get rid of grasses like fescue and Bermuda, and place some plots into. The bluestem is mainly the lower left quadrant, and the heavy black berry is upper left quadrant. Beautiful thicket on the left of the bluestem. I have plans for those areas.

The red circles are where I have food plots now, irrigated, and totaling about 5 acres. I am trying to come up with a plot layout in the new pasture that would flow to the old plots and try to direct some traffic flow. The large hardwood area, thicket, and neighboring pine lots do hold some deer.

Should I place the plots along the edge of the woods along the bottom and sweep up toward the plots I already have? Elevation change is about 60 feet from bottom to top. Plan on screening the road well this year to hide any upper plots from road shooters.

I also have no plots bigger than an acre, so having some big plots is an exciting thought. How big is too big for a plot? I will hunt over those plots, unless it’s a bad idea.

Any thoughts?

 

[Bill]

Congratulations on the new land.

If the fields you’re planing on plotting are thick with weeds (switchgrass style). I think all you need to steer deer is a mowed path. Pick your best stand spots then plan around those.

 

[PatinPA]

I imagine you'll need some large plots with no other ag around. The deer will clean them up in no time if they're small. Beautiful looking property though. A lot of diversity and edges.

 

[tooln]

Congrats on the land addition. If the nearest ag is 4 miles away your best bet is several good size plots. Steering sometimes is best done by making a trail for them. Good luck.

 

[Telemark]

Are you intending to hunt with a rifle or bow?

 

[b116757]

If any of the fields are tillable I’d be very very tempted to just lease them to a row crop guy. You make money on the rent don’t have to fool with food plots yourself at least in the ag fields and if it’s 4 miles to the nearest crop fields you maybe hard pressed to to run the deer off your place chasing them with a stick.

 

[WeedyJ]

Are you intending to hunt with a rifle or bow?

Rifle

 

[WeedyJ]

If any of the fields are tillable I’d be very very tempted to just lease them to a row crop guy. You make money on the rent don’t have to fool with food plots yourself at least in the ag fields and if it’s 4 miles to the nearest crop fields you maybe hard pressed to to run the deer off your place chasing them with a stick.

I thought about that, but I'm wanting to try and have as much early successional as possible. I was considering some 2-5 acre plots and having them border the woods, or be very close. Can't decide how much of a soft edge/bedding habitat I want between the woods edge and plot edges. Not out of the question though.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

Could you develop a logging plan to keep a % of your place in young growth?

I agree with b116757- if your nearest ag field is 4 miles away then you will have great hunting if you have some large ag fields. I like the idea of leasing most of it out to a farmer and he can do the work. Maybe add a couple acres yourself as well.

I would definitely plant a visual screen along the road as quickly as possible to prevent poachers from shooting from the road.

 

[PatinPA]

Could you develop a logging plan to keep a % of your place in young growth?

I agree with b116757- if your nearest ag field is 4 miles away then you will have great hunting if you have some large ag fields. I like the idea of leasing most of it out to a farmer and he can do the work. Maybe add a couple acres yourself as well.

I would definitely plant a visual screen along the road as quickly as possible to prevent poachers from shooting from the road.

Yes maybe larger commercial ag fields out towards the road and some more strategic plots of your own in other areas

 

[WeedyJ]

Could you develop a logging plan to keep a % of your place in young growth?

I agree with b116757- if your nearest ag field is 4 miles away then you will have great hunting if you have some large ag fields. I like the idea of leasing most of it out to a farmer and he can do the work. Maybe add a couple acres yourself as well.

I would definitely plant a visual screen along the road as quickly as possible to prevent poachers from shooting from the road.

No TSI done yet. Hopefully get some done this year. Lots of those obnoxious maples since so close to the water.

 

[cavey]

Interesting property and you definitely have some work... took some time but I got a better look at the property from google earth... Im going to assume Georgia red clay with rocks maybe a bit of sand tossed in by the looks of all the pine plantations and lack of ag around you. Looks like you have plenty of water and not too dry is that seasonal - prone to flooding.

Should be able to grow what ever you want for food plots?? Are your pasture areas tillable or are they low and kept in pasture for that reason. What you lack in elevation changes and rolling hills you gain in having a creek and low ground for year round water.
The property you gained - whats happening to the house? - are you keeping it, knocking it down or renting it out. If that was cleaned up and removed looks like that area is a good little woods - higher ground. It looks like your best hardwood stand 5acres ish... I just dont know how nice the house is from the images.

Screening the road would be huge and beefing up some high ground bedding along the low creek ground would be good - coming out from the creek area, trees and wildlife shrubs, keep it simple at first - depending on how young you are and if your passing it along to the next generation adding some hardwoods (pines are too mono culture) would be a long term goal. If is a hunting property then for sure get the whole road length of the property into permanent long term cover and trees. That buffering from transient human contact will add a comfort level to the deer and let them move around your property feeling less pressured.

Get some fruit trees in they are second to water in my opinion... If that creek lives up to its name - and you have that low ground area get some water holes dug in. Pines always scream "dry" to me when I first looked at the aerials I was thinking no water till I looked closer and seen the green up of the low ground water.

Since you have the acreage some larger crop fields- large food plots would cement in your deer populations year round but that is an added expense. With food but your going to draw and keep deer... just having good plots might be more economical and keeping roadways/paths seeded in with clovers is an easy way of adding to that mix.

Have fun with it...

 

[WeedyJ]

Interesting property and you definitely have some work... took some time but I got a better look at the property from google earth... Im going to assume Georgia red clay with rocks maybe a bit of sand tossed in by the looks of all the pine plantations and lack of ag around you. Looks like you have plenty of water and not too dry is that seasonal - prone to flooding.

Should be able to grow what ever you want for food plots?? Are your pasture areas tillable or are they low and kept in pasture for that reason. What you lack in elevation changes and rolling hills you gain in having a creek and low ground for year round water.
The property you gained - whats happening to the house? - are you keeping it, knocking it down or renting it out. If that was cleaned up and removed looks like that area is a good little woods - higher ground. It looks like your best hardwood stand 5acres ish... I just dont know how nice the house is from the images.

Screening the road would be huge and beefing up some high ground bedding along the low creek ground would be good - coming out from the creek area, trees and wildlife shrubs, keep it simple at first - depending on how young you are and if your passing it along to the next generation adding some hardwoods (pines are too mono culture) would be a long term goal. If is a hunting property then for sure get the whole road length of the property into permanent long term cover and trees. That buffering from transient human contact will add a comfort level to the deer and let them move around your property feeling less pressured.

Get some fruit trees in they are second to water in my opinion... If that creek lives up to its name - and you have that low ground area get some water holes dug in. Pines always scream "dry" to me when I first looked at the aerials I was thinking no water till I looked closer and seen the green up of the low ground water.

Since you have the acreage some larger crop fields- large food plots would cement in your deer populations year round but that is an added expense. With food but your going to draw and keep deer... just having good plots might be more economical and keeping roadways/paths seeded in with clovers is an easy way of adding to that mix.

Have fun with it...

Thanks for the extensive reply! With the rain we've had in spring, I can get most anything to grow. The summers can be dry, fall is hit or miss. Irrigation may be an option in the future as well. There is almost ALWAYS water in the backside, in a good watershed. The house is all I have for shelter, and its a great starter. The location is great for a house, because if I want to drop a few trees, there will be a great view of sunrise over the beaver pond! I'm leaning towards some larger (5 acre ) plots . If I plant them too close to the road, will they want to bed at my neighbor's across the road? Never know, but they have little to no food, and shot a nice buck this year. They thanked me for feeding him....

 

[Buckly]

There’s a lot to be said about a large central destination food plot. 5-10 acres to actually feed and keep the deer. Then a series of smaller plots. 1/4-1/2 acre scattered around strategically for hunting . Deer will move earlier in the evenings through those smaller plots working towards the destination plot

 

[PatinPA]

No TSI done yet. Hopefully get some done this year. Lots of those obnoxious maples since so close to the water.

Don't complain about those maples too much. Those maples will make great hinge cuts in the right areas or cut them off completely for stump sprouts.

 

[Triple C]

Weedy - If that first pic were zoomed out just a little more, my place would show up on it. Similar properties with planted pine, wetlands, areas of hardwoods n bottoms. You have much more field available to you than I did when I started. For what it's worth, here's my opinion - Go big on at least two of your plots, preferably one in the central area of the new 175 and the other obvious spot would be the clearcut/opening near the center line on the original 125.

2011, when I started my largest plot was 3 acres. Today it's 6 acres. I'm scheduled for logging within the next 6 months and when they get there, the 6 acre plot will be expanded to at least 9 acres. I have 2 additional 3 acre plots along with micro plots. Hands down, without question, the 6 acre plot has more deer in it every day of the year by far than any of the other plots. Often times, as many as 4 or 5 doe groups pile in from all sides. Large (more than 5 acres) plots will allow you to have something green growing in them 365 days a year and enough room to allow multiple doe groups to use at the same time without matriarch does running out others. By late Feb, it will look like a mown golf course but still have deer in it daily. Plant the entire perimeter in perennial clover and the interior in grains and brassicas and you have a plot feeding them every day of the year.

In addition, consider expanding portions of your interior roads to at least 75 feet wide and plant the road. Even better if the interior road is thru planted pine that has been thinned. You end up with a long, linear food plot with plenty of sunlight and cover only a few steps away for the deer. Another deer magnet that will have deer in it every day.

Hope to finally put a face with a name this year!

 

[Triple C]

Took the liberty of eyeballing your pic and throwing out a couple of ideas circled in blue for destination plots.


Also included a pic of how we set up our interior roads thru planted pine for linear food plots with enough sunlight hitting the ground to allow them to grow well. Next thinning I will widen this by a couple more rows of pines removed.