New 20 acre property questions
 

Congrats on the land purchase. As far as your questions... location (state) might give more info to properly suggest screening trees which would grow in your area.

Yes, we need a general location to suggest trees.

Is it currently being farmed and do you plan to have it continue being farmed?

And what is the current deer sign like. Are they using the woods? Just passing through? Bedding? Not there at all?

Also, do you live close to the property, and are you able to get there often, or is it several hours away?

Congratulations on your purchase of property. Owning your own property is a special thing and you should take advantage of and be excited about the process of getting it to be what you want it to be.

-Jake

I agree need to know more on location for tree's, but in general pines(what type is more on location) tend to be great for making shields on road ways IMO
as for any food plots, well IMO< I would be planting them as far away from roads and that house as possible
and if GUN hunting here , all the more so!

Nice deer country. Try to keep the food plots out of sight from the roads.

I would let the majority of that tillable area grow up as thick as possible. Deer love the thick stuff.

Over the long term (we're probably talking 15-20 years down the road) that will eventually mean cutting out larger trees and working to keep it thick.

Mixed into the thick stuff I would plant small food plots. Probably no bigger than 30 yards across. Deer like think stuff, transition areas and edges. Having multiple small plots gives you lots of edges and areas for the deer to hide and bed. And multiple stand options to choose from.

On twenty acres unfortunately, the property is too small to hold deer all the time. So what your neighbors do will greatly impact you. But you can still manage your property well.

The thicker it gets the better. Eventually it'll be thick enough that you'll be able to set some stands and not see across the property to the road and to the neighbors etc.

-Jake

OK have you tried talking to your local state soil conservation officer, and or forester?
if not this would be my first recommendation to you, they can tell you a LOT about what your soil is likely to grow best
and many times they have spring time buys/ or group buys for things from tree's to seeds to?? , might be able to get some deals on tree's

and I also agree, 20 acres sounds like a lot more land than it is, all the more so when you consider safety zones and road frontage, still better than NO acres LOL

I would also make sure you start taking to the land owners bordering your lands and getting to know them, for both personal and legal reasons, many states its illegal to trespass onto another land to recover a deer or other animal you shoot, and we all know some things things can go wrong and deer can travel after being shot!
also good idea to talk to them about what they consider management for deer!
as if your trying to grow big bucks and they don't care , your in for a hard road!
as most deer will NOT live and remain on your land, so, they can be shot rather easy on others, making it very very hard to get older aged bucks!

and also, this will let them know what your like, AS I have found, most smaller plots of land like your, locals THINK they OPEN to the public and it can be generations deep trying to stop them
BUT if your in good with locals and bordering land owners, , many times you can all work together, but better to ask in advance before sinking a lot of time and money into plots!
and I too mean all this in a possessive way, no bashing here, just things I know from experience!
back to tree, again, your local soil conservation and forester can recommend fast shielding tree's and shrubs that will grow best on your land,as that's sort of what they do for a living, in knowing this stuff in YOUR area!

another option till tree's grow, is, to have a local farmer, plant a few rows of corn around your borders where possible , it can sure help on drive by shooters! offering as shield of sorts!
if your a member of the NWTF< and start looking NOW< you can get discounted corn seed from most chapters DIRT cheap, and is perfect for doing things like this!
well worth the 20 bucks a yr to be a member!

Hopefully that farm crop will be something the deer like. Win...win.

I was able to plant food plots on CRP ground in Illinois. Federal program. Therefore, I would think the requirements are the same. I tried a bunch of types and brands. Imperial Whitetail clover was the best.

You can likely find a CRP practice involving tree planting. Probably not evergreens though. I received free White Pine trees from the Acres for Wildlife Program. Everyone may tell you deer destroy White Pines and they will not survive. The may recommend Red Cedar instead.

It is true deer will destroy White Pines. But with effort and materials, you can make the White Pines survive the antler rubbing onslought. I like the pines instead of cedars. May be a personal preference.

Your NRCS Office should be a significant source of information.

Deer and cedars go together here in Vermont especially in a cold snowy winter. Have one fall over in winter and it is like a magnate. Tracks all around it. I have 4 of those spiral cedars that stay skinny but grow high along my property as a border. The deer found them 2 years ago and now they look bare until it gets too high for them.

I agree with this too. A bedding area can be a larger magnet than food. Even if does use it more than bucks, the bucks will cruise the bedding area during rut.

If there are plenty of agricultural in the area, may be little to no need for more food. If lots of row crops and/or clover fields in the area, consider planting something out of the ordinary e.g. fruits, turnips, etc. I tried lettuce in a small plot one year. Grew turnips one year and wasn't impressed with the traffic. I've planted apple trees, plum trees. Persimmons are a deer favorite. Nut trees too. I planted high dollar oats next to generic oats from the local elevator. Didn't notice much difference between the two. Ask the NRCS and experiment. Enjoy !!

When I bought my land in northern NY, I wanted a screen of trees. There were some white pines and balsams planted along the road, about 5" high, but I wanted more quickly. I bought about 3o poplars online dirt cheap. they grew in quicly, growing about 3' a year and within a few years were quite a good road barrier. I thinned them out after about 7 years, and now, 12 years later, the softwoods are filling in enough to take their place. the Poplars are over 30' tall now...time to drop em, they did their job.