Land & Legacy - Habitat + Hunting

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 also review some common mis-conceptions about deer herd dynamics, heavy equipment, food plot techniques, and habitat enhancement features that many landowners face yearly. This podcast will make you think and consider next steps on your farm! Every mistake costs you time and key windows of opportunity.

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 management stands today — and where it may be headed.

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 production, then transition to discuss at length our anecdotal experiences. We cover some of the topics below in this podcast: -develops desirable layers of forest -understory, mid story, and over story - slow progression of a forest - Natural degradation - No disturbance means slow change We hope you enjoy this podcast and find value in the education of TSI!

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 step by step process and plan development phases that we walk clients through to set them up for success and create a legacy for your family . We have several highly professional guest speakers joining us for the event to educate you on business strategy, tax strategy, and wealth building! If you want to take your land ownership responsibility to the next level, join us August 7-8th 2026!

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 and hands-on lesson, participants will learn to enhance their land with strategic food plots, prescribed fire, water holes, timber stand improvement, diverse plantings and much more. We’ll cover how to plan and execute a habitat management strategy that attracts and sustains wildlife, creating a balanced ecosystem while lining this up with a hunt strategy. Techniques for increasing biodiversity and promoting healthy populations are central to our approach, ensuring each farm reaches its full potential. Whether you're new to land management or looking to improve your techniques, this workshop will provide actionable insights for success. This class will be similar to last years with the addition of MORE hands on lessons of properly executing land management tools.

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 available! Sign up today before it’s booked! Join us for Hands-on demonstrations with Adam, Matt, Greg and Kasey from HuntWorx. Live Q&A to discuss your specific questions Topics Covered - Timber Stand Improvement Edge Feathering Prescribed Fire Old Field Management Food Plots Bedding Thickets Stand Placement Hunting Strategy And many more!

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.

For years we have watched landowners pour cash and resources into land and only profit from the recreational potential that comes along with owning land. But there is a better way to own land and turn that land into a business. We have been behind the scenes building a team to help launch a service that will help landowners develop a land owning strategy that will create a legacy. If you've ever struggled to understand how you can develop a strategy and detailed plan that transforms recreational land into a living business that generates income, reduces taxes, and creates a legacy you can pass down for generations to come then you are perfectly positioned to benefit from this service offering. We hope you see value in this offering and join us in the journey of creating a legacy around landownership.

Matt Dye discusses herd dynamics and deer densities on three different recreational farms across three different states. He highlights the importance of balancing herd density with habitat improvements. As this is the only way to see the farm's full maximized value. Farm 1 in Ohio, 959 acres, has a high deer density of 196 deer per square mile, necessitating a reduction from 295 deer to 110 per square mile over four years. Farm 2 in Kentucky, 580 acres, has a lower density of 111 deer per square mile and requires a similar reduction strategy. Farm 3, a 1500-acre timbered farm with high fencing, has a one-to-one buck-to-doe ratio and a high fawn recruitment rate, requiring a focus on reducing lower-quality bucks and maintaining doe harvest. These three examples emphasize the need for comprehensive herd and habitat management. Trophy deer hunting requires a fluid and engaged habitat management and herd management program. Without either, you will be lacking!

This week, we break down Matt's buck harvest from this fall on a 7.5 year old buck. This deer never was top of the chain and seemed to evade us when it came to encounters over the past few years. But, he was not shy on trail camera. A few years ago, a late season scouting mission connected some vital dots to the lease property. A small overlooked island in a river bed turned out to be a huge corridor and funnel. For years now, it has become one of the hotspots for monitoring bucks working scrapes as they transition from cover to cover or from bedding to cover. During a hot November morning, Matt headed to the island and had a close quarters encounter with House-8 . A stare down ensued, but the buck ultimately didn't bolt away and offered a great broadside shot at just 20 yards.

Year after year, season after season, next year will be the year that you start shooting does like you should. Forgetting that you are slipping further and further away from really growing bigger bucks. The pursuit of trophy bucks gets in the way so much during the season that you are so consumed by an objective of a single deer that you get further away from accomplishing the original goal. This is what we call the trophy buck death spiral. It's time to be honest with yourself and shoot does like you need to. If you are doing habitat management and not herd management, this podcast is for you. We chat in detail with Jack Hutson of Midwest Deer Survey about his consistent findings during thermal deer surveys. Consistently deer herds are twice the density that they need to be. That is a problem. It is in distinct opposition to growing trophy deer consistently. Listen and apply!

On this podcast we are joined by HuntWorx own Greg Glesinger. Greg is known for pursuing huge whitetails in the midwest. Year after year he and Kasey Morgan are toe to toe with 6-8 year old mature whitetail bucks. These pursuits test so many skills that a whitetail hunter must have. This year however, tested patience and persistence as they went after a buck named The Natural. What made this year such a grind, perhaps it was the 80 acres of standing grain in the field due to a broken combine or maybe it was just the rut needed to take full swing before The Natural got on his feet. One thing is for sure, the removal of the eastern red cedar thickets across this farm has more than doubled the usable space on the property. Without a doubt, this project has dramatically improved this property since starting it in 2021. To learn more about this hunt, check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AddoCv7Im4A

One this week's podcast we are joined by Land & Legacy consultant Alan Summerford. He discusses his recent success in the field with his son Reid in Alabama. They went on a terror during the week of Thanksgiving harvesting three bucks! Most would wonder how frequent these deer were on trail cameras to encounter this many target deer in one week.... the answer will surprise you. These deer were not frequent and these hunt strategies were very different as one area is peak rut, while the other area is 4 weeks away from peak rut! How was this done, you may ask? Alan and his son didn't rely on the trail cameras to tell them where to and or when or if they should hunt. The cameras simply told them what deer were in the areas they were hunting. From there, they used knowledge of the landscape, food sources, wind, weather on a daily basis to intercept these bucks based on the day to day conditions within the region of where the cameras had picked them up. They most importantly didn't wait for the trail cameras to reveal a pattern. They hunted!

On this week's podcast we are joined by Mark Williams of WTP. He and his team have been developing deer management neighborhoods across the country. We have teamed up with them to help develop plans for these tracts of land to better the habitat within these communities. These opportunities are popping up in states like Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, and Kentucky. These tracks of land offer increased opportunities to have like kind neighbors. When buying random tracts of land, you are playing neighbor roulette. You just never know exactly what you are getting, sometimes it works out, other times is is the reason for eventually selling. Buying into a community of hunters and quality habitat will help control the unknown better than most alternative situations. If you have interested in these parcels or others like it, then please contact Mark Williams and his team!

This week we are joined by Zeke Barrett of Whitetail Properties as he connects on a large home body buck on his property in North Arkansas. This story is a connection between quality land management and a solid hunting strategy! Habitat management successes don't always happen overnight, but sometimes they do. This is just the tip of the iceberg for Zeke on this home farm of 200 acres. If you want to share in the success and learn about your farm, contact us at www.landandlegacy.tv We would be happy to work with you as well!

It’s the time of the year when bedding thickets really shine! However, it doesn’t take years to develop these areas… maybe just weeks or months. We have the receipts to show you! We’ve had several success stories and new bucks swing up in daylight cruising the downwind side of less than one year old bedding thickets. It’s the easiest way to get ahead in your hunting strategy! Arrange, place, and build cover in the right areas respective to access and topography and you will win! Enjoy November and the sweet success of putting deer on your back forty!