New Farm Investments
Welcome to your farm! With all your hard-earned dollars you’ve been saving all these years, you’ve finally invested in the farm of your dreams. Of course, you already have the long list of to-dos in your back pocket. Where is the food plot going? Where are the cameras going to be placed? How many and where do the stands need to be? These are all new and very exciting tasks for a new landowner but before you do that, we need to take a step back and evaluate one thing. How well does my new investment benefit the wildlife I want to call it home?
Every day when we turn on the hunting shows that we love to watch, more often than not the TV personalities harvesting the game of their choice are over a big, luscious food plots using some of the nicest hunting equipment on the market. Sure, are those things awesome? Yes! Do they benefit my farm and my hunt? Yes! Should they be our first and top priority? Absolutely not. All the newest gear and gadgets are nice to have, but how much does it swing the bar in our favor when we’re talking results?
For many of us, we are on a budget every year with how much we can invest in our hunting endeavors. Food sources, Trail Cameras, Tree Stands are all important pieces to invest in, but first, let me tell you what some of your first investments should be and why.
#1 A good chainsaw – A chainsaw can be the most useful tool in a landowner’s toolbox. When applicable, hinge cutting, edge feathering, clear cutting and cutting trails can all have a direct impact on how wildlife uses your property and the native food sources available.
#2 A good sprayer or two – In spring through early fall, I spend a lot of my time riding around on the four-wheeler looking for invasive weeds and unwanted brush. Getting control of them on your property will benefit the native species and increase natural food sources available for wildlife. But as the famous movie quote goes, “With great power, comes great responsibility.” Knowledge of the plants on your farm and the herbicides you are using is very important. You wouldn’t want to spray something that looks like a weed, that was actually providing a lot of benefits to wildlife on your farm. There are apps available now that allow you to take a picture of a plant and it will identify it, as well as give you a short description of it. PictureThis is a great free app.
#3 ATV – I am not saying to go out and buy a brand-new four-wheeler or side-by-side. This can be a relatively inexpensive investment that will make a lot of the labor on your farm easier to handle. In 2020 I bought a 20-year-old Yamaha Big Bear for about $1,500 that holds my sprayer, pulls a harrow, pulls a cultipacker, helps me move down trees, etc. If you want to spend more for some of the new creature comforts and it fits your budget, go for it. But for a relatively small investment, you can pick up a good, older ATV that will accomplish all the tasks you need it to.
#4 Broadcast Spreader – For less than $100 you can buy one of the best seeder/spreaders on the market. Both Solo and Earthway make good, heavy-duty spreaders that can handle most all of the seeding and fertilizing projects on your farm. Most all the seedings you want to establish on your farm can be broadcast seeded with excellent results.
#5 Drip Torch and Leaf Blower – Fire is one of the most effective methods of cleaning up and controlling landscape. Drip torches may seem a little expensive (around $175) but considering the amount of ground that can be covered with one, it pays for itself quickly and is a safer method compared to other alternatives. I use leaf blowers to extinguish a lot of my controlled burns. They are easier to haul around compared to water. Additionally, you can purchase attachments to turn your leaf blower into a seeder.
All the items above can be purchased for less than $3,000. Considering the amount of value you can create on your farm with the above items and some manual labor, the return on your investment of these purchases is exponential. Adding these to your landowner toolbox can immediately give your farm a higher return on success.