As the afternoon turned to dusk, fox squirrels and doe/fawn families crunched loudly on the fallen mast. On a cool, early October afternoon, I slipped up a Linden tree near a red oak that was raining acorns. It may take up to 20 years or more before an oak produces acorns. All tree plantings are long-term projects, and oaks are among the longest. Acorns are high-protein food for wildlife during the bleak winter months, and each spring I plant bare-root oaks. Our land is blessed to have an abundance of oaks, both bur and red. Dad plants hills of pumpkins in another food plot, and the deer devour them during the late fall into winter. Pumpkins are another food the deer consume with relish. Once the wheat matures, he removes it and plants a brassica food plot in the stubble to provide a winter food source. As soon as the snow melts in the spring, the winter wheat greens up and provides important forage during a very lean time of year. When the fall weather is cooperative, he will plant winter wheat in at least one of the plots. Without access to year-round food, deer will drift away.ĭad installed a couple food plots throughout the old pasture and along the hardwoods. The growing season is short, though, and the crops are harvested during fall. Row crops of soybeans and corn are grown in profusion all over the Midwest, providing high-quality food for deer. As neither one of us are what I would consider trophy hunters, harvesting a deer or two a year would make us happy. Dad and I realized that as we started to improve the habitat, and we both agreed that our goal was to provide a home for deer, furbearers, small game, and other wildlife. Fortunately, my day job is director at a soil conservation district, and we work with a myriad of landowners, farmers and ranchers every year by helping them put conservation on the ground.įood - On our home farm, we simply don’t own enough land to produce large bucks every year. There was extraordinarily little natural reproduction, as the sheep kept any new vegetation closely cropped.Īs the land use practices around the farm changed over the years, it became obvious that if we wanted to continue to hunt deer, we would have to make the property more appealing to whitetails.
Mature bur oaks dotted the closely cropped grass, while silver maple and willow grew in the wetter areas. Small willows and tall grass grew in the wet areas, south to the county road.Ĭontinuing west, sheep grazed in a large pasture. The northern end consisted of oaks and a few straggly cedar trees. Further west, there were a few acres of swampy ground.
It was quite open, with mature bur and red oaks, American linden, bitternut hickory and box elder. On the eastern side of the 45-acre property was what we call The Woods. However, most were does and fawns passing through, as the land wasn’t productive for deer to call it home. Growing up on our small farm in south-central Minnesota, it was common to see a deer. The improvements he’s made appeal to all wildlife. The author’s home farm features a good mix of prairie and edge habitat, as well as forest. However, making that a reality can be done in many different ways. Wildlife flourishes where they have both food and cover. No matter the size, taking a deer on our land never gets old. It was a perfect hit, and, after a couple wobbly steps, the buck fell into a shallow, muddy pool of cold autumn water.
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I quickly came to full draw, floated the top pin on his chest, and released an arrow. A fawn pranced out into the harvested cornfield in front of me, and a small buck darted out behind her. Starting to relax against the tree, I was startled when I heard a grunt to the east of me. Before first light a small buck had walked below my stand in an American linden tree, and a couple does drift by just out of shooting range once the sun illuminated the countryside. My father and I were hunting our property on the opening morning of the Minnesota firearm season. It had already been a productive morning. It costs more, but in the author’s opinion, it’s money well spent. Applying landscape fabric when planting trees conserves water and reduces weed competition.
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