Developing a
great hunting property requires a lot of work. Unfortunately, most landowners
struggle to fulfill their dreams because they underestimate the importance of
building a solid data base for their property. Philosopher George Santayana
said: “Those that cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” which sums
up why documenting every aspect of your land management practices is so
important. If you can’t remember what you did in the past, it’s hard to track
your property’s progress, because as the years pass, memories fade. After all,
Babe Ruth’s 60-home-run season in 1927 wouldn’t have meant much if someone
hadn’t kept track of Major League home run totals through the years.
The bottom line
is that acquiring historical information as it pertains to environmental issues,
soil types, which seed blends work best for different parts of the property,
and how deer navigate the land are keys to building a first-class hunting
paradise. So, as with athletics, documenting the past is the key to both
current and future success.
BUILD A RECORD
BOOK
Getting a
handle on documenting the past is daunting for many hunters and land managers. In
too many cases one’s failure to write down and organize what takes place on a
property makes it difficult to make a property better. When you consider what it
costs to develop a great hunting property the least expensive thing that can be
done is recording what went into making everything happen. And the easiest way
I know to accomplish this is by having everything about the property organized
in a three-ring binder. Neil Dougherty of North Country Whitetails makes his
living consulting and building great hunting properties. One of the first things
he does is build a reference document for the landowner to use. Regarding this
he told me, “It’s important to have a quick, easy-to-use reference guide for
use in the field. What I find that works well is an expandable three-ring
binder that is set up to hold different pieces of information about the
property; everything from soil type, its topography, to food plot locations, to
the forages that have been planted in the past. This information allows me to
know what has taken place and gives me a better handle on what to recommend in
the future. Basically, this type of filing system tells me nearly everything I need
to know about the property, and it’s simple to use.” Over the years I’ve used
this system as a tool to help me manage all aspects of our farm, from food
plots to forest management. Here is how it works.
STARTING POINT
To get started
I recommend obtaining a quality aerial photo of the entire property in question
and insert it in the front of the binder. Next, note the prevailing wind
direction as well as north, south, east and west coordinates on the photo. This
will help you identify where feeding and hunting food plots might work best.
As you look at
the photo understand that all prospective food plot locations will probably not
have the same growing potential because of their orientation to the sun.
According to Dougherty, “Here in the North, all things being equal,
east/southeast-facing food plots have the potential of being great set-ups
because they get early morning light, when the day is still cool. As a result
their soils tend to stay moist, and warm afternoon temperatures don’t bake and
dry out their soil. Such locations are great for seed blends like Imperial
Clover, Alfa-Rack and Chicory Plus.
“North-sloping
sites generally have cooler, heavier soils that stay moist, making them great locations
for a blend like Imperial Clover. However, because of their angle to the sun
they tend to begin growing later in the spring and stop growing sooner in the
fall than plots with a more direct orientation to the sun. “Though great in spring
and fall, straight south or southwestern facing openings are the least
favorable food plot locations during warm months because they receive a lot of
direct sunlight. Because Chicory Plus, Alfa-Rack and Extreme have the ability
to grow well in drought conditions they are great choices for these locations. However,
when it comes hunting season a food plot with this orientation to the sun is
the best because the ground stays warm enough to allow the plant to continue to
grow.”
STUDY THE DIRT
With potential
food plot locations identified, it is important to name each food plot in such
a way that everyone using the property knows the location. Once done, keep
detailed soil information on the plot, beginning before the first sod is turned.
Doing so starts the data base and makes it easier to see what’s needed for the
plot to reach its potential.
Prior to
working with Dougherty I tested our food plot’s soil pH before tilling the
location, and applied lime as recommended. Thinking I had covered my liming
bases I seldom retested the plot’s pH until it was three years old. It wasn’t
until I heeded Dougherty’s suggestion and began testing each new plot’s pH
every year (for at least the first three years) that I saw the error of my
ways. The data base I was building with each year’s testing showed that some
plots needed more attention than I was giving them. Had I not kept records I
never would have known.
Along with
knowing the food plot’s pH, attempt to determine if its soil is loamy, sandy or
clay. This will aid you in deciding what seed blend to plant, as well as when
to plant. By way of example, sandy soils do not hold moisture well and tend to
dry out quickly, making it difficult for plants to grow in the summer months.
So, in sandy soil it is best to plant a drought resistant seed blend, like
Extreme, Chicory Plus or Alfa-Rack. Blends like Tall Tine Turnips, Chicory Plus
and Alfa-Rack do particularly well in well drained loamy soil. Shale and rocky
soils have a tendency to dry quickly, especially if they receive direct
sunlight, so a forage like Extreme, which has seeds with a very deep root
system, does well in this type soil.
The United
States Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service has documented the
soil types of all the land in the United States. You can obtain a photo copy of
your property and its soil types by contacting the Soil Conservation Service
office in the county where your property is located. This is a vital piece of
information that should become a part of your property’s data base.
LEARN FROM THE
PAST
As time passes,
strive to keep detailed notes in your file on each food plot—everything from when
it was prepped and tilled to what was planted. By documenting the history of
each plot you’ll be able to determine which seed blend works best for the
location. The plot’s historical record will also make you aware of when the
plot needs to be rotated to a different blend. As an example, my farm’s records
indicate that with proper maintenance I can get four to five years out of an
Imperial Clover plot. Though possible, my data base also reveals that year four
and five do not provide the tonnage per acre that year one to three does. So,
instead of trying to milk five years out of my clover plots I now replant after
the third year. Record-keeping has also aided me in my approach to planting
annuals. I’m a huge fan of planting Tall Tine Turnips for late season
utilization by the deer. Though I’m able to obtain good results planting
turnips two years in a row in the same plot, the second year’s production is
not as good as the first. Recording this kind of information allows me to see
when I should consider crop rotation. It’s important to note that some
herbicides have residual effects on the soil to the point that they may affect
future plantings in a particular food plot site, so record-keeping is a must
when it comes to herbicide application. Arrest (spray for grasses) has no
residual effects on the soil so there are no lasting traces of the herbicide,
regardless of how many times it is sprayed. Slay (spray for broadleaf weeds), on
the other hand, does have a residual effect. The benefit of the residual effect
of Slay is that after one or two spray applications you may not have to do a
spring spraying the following year because the chemical is still in the ground.
The down side of Slay and other residual herbicides is that if you decide to
till and replant the site in something other than legumes (i.e., corn) the crop
may not grow. There is no end to the benefits of accurate record-keeping
because of what you can learn. Information is power and when you have the proper
data at your fingertips it will be much easier to develop a hunting paradise.
The bottom line is that if you know where you’ve been, you will be able to
better chart your future.
