Land & Legacy - Habitat + Hunting

After a recent consultation trip to North Texas, Kyle and Matt design a killer habitat management plan for this property. During the podcast we break down the recommendations from top to bottom and how the eco-region plays a huge role in natural resource management. The goal of this farm was to better manage the natural vegetation to create predictable movement and develop a hunting strategy aroun...

This week we are joined by Cory Gray and Ralph Meeker from the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission to discuss what’s going on with our deer herd. Several issues from CWD to Gnats have plagued the deer herd across the state, but where are we now? Join us as we discuss what’s happening and what to expect.

We're covering all kinds of topics this week on the podcast, from favorite doe hunt, to biggest flops in habitat management. This podcast is different than every other podcast we've ever done so you don't want to miss it! 

The Hedges Farm in SE Kansas has been on a roll during the last few years. Kyle Hedges, a Land & Legacy consultant has been managing this family farm with clear intentions the last 5 years and the results speak for themselves. Although this farm has been in the family for more than 20 years, time is now on Kyle's side to manage the property for harvesting mature whitetails with a bow. In the past...

Mention turkeys on any social media page and the conversation quickly turns to the population decline and the opinions on why the decline is happening. Today we are joined with Dr Marcus Lashley from the University of Florida and Dr Will Gulsby from Auburn University for a big announcement. These two turkey research specialists have teamed up with Turkeys For Tomorrow (TFT) and are starting their...

Is a TSI timber block great bedding or is a hinge cut thicket better? Can you create different levels of cover without creating cover too thick it is bad for turkeys? What is the solution?! It's a shame it's taken 30 years of information in the outdoor industry to reach a point of understanding! Tune in this week to hear how to manage for your turkeys and deer with your timber management. #ForLove...

Here is the story of how an eager and goal oriented 20-year old purchased his first property, executed a habitat management plan, hunted smart, and tagged a great buck on 20 acres during the first hunting season. It doesn't take owning the whole county to get it done. Remember quality habitat is intentional, not accidental. This was not an accident, he will be success here next year and the years...

That doesn’t work here! We constantly hear it on social media. Today we are joined with Wildlife Professionals and Consulting Foresters from the North to the South to discuss various topics that we constantly hear, “How do I choose a land consultant”, “Should I hinge cut”, and “How do I increase my turkey population”; among several other topics. This week, Thomas and Hunter are Joined by Kyle Lyba...

The acronym TSI or Timber Stand Improvement is very commonly used, but the practice is often misunderstood. There is a wide realm of understandings, beliefs, and practices from people who believe they are completing TSI. However, we set the record straight this week and discussed the three main levels of TSI that we most commonly prescribe, Light, Medium, and Heavy TSI.  For each degree of TSI we...

In today's podcast you are going to learn how to turn "junk timber" into whitetail woods.  The term junk timber is over-used, misused, and used incorrectly. Today, we set the record straight on recreational properties where the goal is to improve the property for whitetail deer.  Not all value for deer is found within oak species. Although they provide a lot of potential from the mast they produce...

Join us this week as we discuss some of our past projects as well as plans we have for next year, some of our upcoming guests and even a couple of rants. With hunting season going on we have been preoccupied, but looking forward to getting back into the swing of things and making major habitats improvements starting over the next few weeks.

This is your how to instructional podcast to create one of the most important foundational aspects to a managed hunting property for whitetail deer. You have to have cover and cover in the appropriate places. This podcast explains in a step-by-step process of how to identify the proper locations, how to size the opening, and how to cut it to maximizes it’s security and forage resources.  You shoul...

We’ve all been there. We climb up in the stand for a relaxing hunt and our thoughts quickly turn to what you wish you had gotten done. If I would have only cut in that bedding thicket, or feathered that edge; would this hunt have been more successful? Would I at least be more confident? Why didn’t I get it done last year? Should I climb down and do it now? I guess every habitat manager has these t...

Late season is the time to harvest mature bucks. The exhaustion of the rut and settling in of cold temperatures drives bucks to feed and feed routinely. With proper planning though, the advantage can easily be placed in the hunters corner. Last year to this year, we’ve learned a few things on this western Iowa farm. During this podcast, we break them down one by one.  Wind protection is a huge whe...

Burn in the spring to promote grasses and burn in the summer to promote forbs, but what about winter burns? For many of us burning during the late summer isn't something we get excited about because we want to avoid a large area of black, no food no cover during the fall with hunting season. In comes Winter burns and their ability to set back warm season grasses and allow forbs to flourish.   

Chuck Mays is no stranger to intense situations. As Chief Inspector of the Shelby Co Tennessee Sheriff’s Department and a long career with the SWAT team in the Memphis TN area, Chuck has developed tactics to deal with criminals and uses a lot of the same mentality when managing his family farm for wildlife. He calls it “unwinding therapy”, but I’d hate to be the invasive vegetation that he’s unwin...

Ready or not, the cold is coming. There is the treaty of serious cold temps hitting the whitetails range in the next few weeks. Does your land have the late season food sources to support them? Do you even know what to look for regarding late season food resources? Download this podcast to find out!  Woody browse, grains, greens, and red oak acorns are the staples for late season forage. These are...

On this week’s episode, we are joined by Brian Modrzynski, a Land & Legacy client from southern Ohio. This story will take you on a journey of landownership and the evolution of goals and mindsets.  Every once in a while you come across people who can see the vision and execute. They are the people who set goals and reach them with a tenacity. In the last three years this 600 acre farm has changed...

We often hear landowners say “I don’t want to cut my woods”, but timber needs to be thinned occasionally so it will remain healthy and regeneration can occur. There are way too many timber tracts that could benefit from being thinned and you just might put some money in your pocket doing it. Join us this week as we discuss When to hold ‘em and when to fold em with Forester Wade Hargrave.  

Every hunting season brings new perspectives to discuss and learn from. During this episode we discuss how a 36-acre managed property out performed a 160-acre lease.  The difference in a lease and owning land is stark. Coming from two habitat nerds it’s hard to hunt a property without envisioning all the changes that would solve all the problems. In addition, quality habitat doesn’t just mean grea...

Old habits die hard. This saying is so fitting for many landowners. We've all heard the lines that most hunters murmur when they just simply accept poor quality hunting. Most excuses revolve around poor genetics, bad soils, and the region of the country. These factors are not limitations, just guidelines for the ways you should manage your farm. Stop using excuses, embrace change, and implement so...

Throughout this deer season Hunter Johnson has had the privilege of visiting over 40 top notch deer clubs while following his tracking dog Lanky. Tune in as he and Thomas Baldridge discuss what these properties all have in common and how these clubs are able to produce and hold big mature bucks every year.

Are you a private landowner or do you aspire to become one? The value of owning land is difficult to comprehend and write about, so this week we dive deep into the raw meaning, emotions, value, and feelings regarding recreational land ownership.  Neil Hauger is a Whitetail Properties Agent, he has seen it all when it comes to land ownership. He’s assisted hundreds of new and veteran landowners. As...

Do you have a deer tag still? If you do, listen up!  There is still a lot of great hunting season left. After the peak of the rut, it seems hunters' interests just die off. However, we are discussing why some of the best of the hunting season is still in front of us with the post-rut and late-season food hunts.  The back half of the rut is often missed out on, wether hunters are tired from grindin...

“It won’t work!” We constantly hear this from cattle farmers across the country. Tune in with us as we join Ryan Parker Quail Forever, Grasslands Coordinating Wildlife Biologist. We discuss grazing natives and the benefits to cattle and wildlife.  Folks don’t know why it won’t work but they know they’ve never seen it done. Did the Buffalo graze fescue to be healthy? What did cattle farmers do befo...