Land & Legacy - Habitat + Hunting

What if everything you thought you knew about your deer herd was wrong? This week on the Land & Legacy Podcast, Adam sits down with Jack Huston, founder of Midwest Deer Surveys, to discuss what thousands of thermal drone flights across hundreds of hunting properties have revealed about whitetail management. Jack has surveyed more than 500 farms covering hundreds of thousands of acres, using therma...

On this week's podcast we discuss many of the variations of state hunting regulations that hunters face across the country. Many hunters don't factor in the state regulations into decisions they make before buying land, however you need too! Topics covered include season open dates, CWD regulations, buck harvest limits, doe harvest opportunities, hunter density, and many more influential factors....

Herbicides are one of the most powerful tools available to landowners, but they can also be one of the most confusing. In this episode, Adam and Matt sit down with Travis and Dan from Orion Solutions to discuss the launch of the new Land & Legacy Guide to Herbicide Use and why understanding herbicides is critical for anyone looking to improve wildlife habitat, increase native plant diversity, esta...

Turkey season may be behind us, but the real habitat work is just getting started. In this week's Land & Legacy podcast, Adam and Chad discuss what they've observed since the season closed and how those observations continue to reinforce the importance of active habitat management. One of the most noticeable changes has been the return of turkeys to the farm after neighboring properties stopped il...

Every landowner has a vision for what their property can become, but turning that vision into reality takes planning, persistence, and a willingness to adapt. On this episode of Land & Legacy, Chad and Adam sit down to discuss some of the most successful habitat projects completed on their farm, Whistling Woodlands, and the lessons learned along the way. From establishing diverse native grass plan...

During this episode, we review the Wealth Strategy service with Alan Summerford, who recently completed the program. This podcast aims to clarify the process and value this service brings to clients similar to Alan. This multi-step process offers clients substantial analysis, a financial eco-system review, and land evaluation. Our end goal and objective is to educate clients on the best way to str...

In this episode, we break down several simple, practical habitat projects that can make a major impact on your property without requiring huge budgets or complicated equipment. Too often, landowners chase advanced strategies while overlooking the foundational improvements that consistently produce better wildlife habitat year after year. These are the kinds of projects that should be at the top of...

Rethink your farm with us this week as we wipe the slate clean and re-evaluate how your farm works. This interactive podcast will guide you through starting cleanly, helping you understand how deer move on your property. This 7-step exercise will make areas on your farm stand out using OnX mapping. Future bedding thickets will be revealed, travel corridors and areas where deer are vulnerable to ha...

Spring plots don’t have to be complicated. Adam and Matt break down a simple, proven system for building food plots that actually work—without chasing trends. Back to the basics, back to results.

In this episode, we’re diving headfirst into what we call “Fantasy Land Management”—the world where habitat strategies sound great on paper, circulate heavily online, and get repeated often… but fall apart when applied on real ground. Too many landowners are making decisions based on secondhand opinions, outdated practices, or “highlight reel” results without ever questioning if those approaches a...

In this episode from the Land & Legacy podcast, the conversation zeroes in on how timber management directly impacts turkey populations—and why most properties fall short simply because the woods are too closed and stagnant. A major takeaway is that turkeys thrive in open, diverse timber—not mature, shaded forests. The guys emphasize that many landowners mistakenly believe “big timber” equals good...

Does Burning Create More Turkeys? It is widely known the value that prescribed fire can play in habitat management for wild turkeys. However, we commonly see folks burning during improper timing, frequencies, and/or in areas that are not ready for fire, meaning unthinned timber. Fire in closed canopies may actually in some cases make turkey habitat worse. During this podcast, we discuss the proper...

Most landowners overlook a simple yet powerful strategy—you can dramatically improve deer habitat and hunting success by strategically logging and creating early successional growth. In this episode, Adam Keith reveals the surprisingly straightforward approach that transformed one two-acre oak-hickory stand into a deer magnet in just four years. Amid hectic farm life, Adam shares behind-the-scenes...

The NWTF is doubling down on science-led conservation strategy A dedicated research leadership role signals a new era of coordinated, national-scale research Investments in research and partnerships are driving data-backed wildlife management decisions Conservation is not just about wildlife—it’s about preserving outdoor traditions and ecosystems for future generations

During this week's podcast consultants Matt Dye and Brady Bradley discuss a wide range of habitat topics. They are playing 'Where's Waldo?' in the realm of where all the Land & Legacy Team has been during the last few weeks of consulting. The team covered a wide range of states, topographies, and ecosystems from sandy soils to rocky ridges. Habitat is going in the ground across the country. We als...

In this weeks episode Kyle and Frank discuss prescribed fire. They cover the basics of how fire timing, techniques, and weather conditions affect the outcome of the prescribed burn.

We’re coming to you from the NWTF National Convention with Dr. Brett Collier to break down the latest in wild turkey research. We dive into the hot-button issues surrounding turkey declines, tackle some of the more confrontational opinions in the conversation, and take a hard look at what the research actually says about predators. It’s an honest, science-driven discussion about where turkey manag...

We’re discussing the highly debated topic of duck migrations and why places in the south have seen drastic changes in duck numbers.,, or are they? We’re talking with Scott Hicks of Whitetail Properties who’s been a long time duck hunter and what he’s seen in the world of waterfowl. Is it the weather, the flooded corn, or too many hunters?

Lets compare the structure of four commonly found habitat features on the landscape and see how they measure up in hiding a bedded deer. We're diving into the timber to look at cedar thickets, a bedding thicket, a thinned forest, and a closed canopy forest.

During this podcast we review the dramatic transformations that TSI can provide to a recreational property. This often is the missing piece to many farms. They have drastically underperforming timber stands with regard to wildlife value. Yet, the goals of the farm are to enhanced it for wildlife. We bring in and sight multiple research projects discussing the value of TSI for improved forage produ...

Have you ever wondered if the neighbors are baiting? Isn't that illegal? What are you supposed to look for if you aren't allowed to bait? Adam and Matt sit down with Alan this week to discuss the problems both legal baiting and illegal baiting offer. Ask yourself if given the power to outlaw baiting nation wide or keep it which would you do?

Our first ever Wealth Strategy Service Workshop held in Sioux City, Iowa August 7-8th. This event will teach you how to develop a strategy and detailed plan that transforms land into a living business that generates income, reduces taxes, and creates a legacy you can pass down for generations to come. This offering is an extremely undervalued event considering the price! You will learn about our s...

Spend an entire weekend with Mike & Shawn from Heartland Bowhunter, along with Matt & Adam from Land & Legacy discussing all things whitetail from a land management perspective while also implementing hunting strategy. Our Whitetail Workshop is designed to equip land managers with the skills and knowledge to create and maintain thriving habitats for whitetails and turkeys. Through in class study a...

Ever wonder why southern Iowa is considered the big buck capital of the world? Here’s your chance to go behind the curtain and see what Adam and Matt consider the best farm in the country! This farm doesn’t just grow them, they are successfully harvesting 190” and bigger year after year! This could be a one time only opportunity to see inside the giant buck factory of southern Iowa! Only 20 spots...

Alan and Adam sit down to discuss things we've learned over the years that can help you from having to learn the hard way. Isn't it great when we can learn from someone else's mistakes so we don't have to make them ourselves? A huge part of Land & Legacy is assisting landowners from making costly mistakes and this podcast highlights some of our biggest regrets in land management.