Land & Legacy - Habitat + Hunting

Rethink your farm with us this week as we wipe the slate clean and re-evaluate how your farm works. This interactive podcast will guide you through starting cleanly, helping you understand how deer move on your property. This 7-step exercise will make areas on your farm stand out using OnX mapping. Future bedding thickets will be revealed, travel corridors and areas where deer are vulnerable to harvest will appear when you start over. New stand locations await you on the other side of the exercise. Mentally these are exercises that we perform whenever we walk a new farm. We see...

Spring plots don’t have to be complicated. Adam and Matt break down a simple, proven system for building food plots that actually work—without chasing trends. Back to the basics, back to results.

In this episode, we’re diving headfirst into what we call “Fantasy Land Management”—the world where habitat strategies sound great on paper, circulate heavily online, and get repeated often… but fall apart when applied on real ground. Too many landowners are making decisions based on secondhand opinions, outdated practices, or “highlight reel” results without ever questioning if those approaches actually fit their property, region, or goals. The result? Wasted time, wasted money, and in some cases, habitat that’s worse than where they started. We break down some of the most common false ideas in land manageme...

In this episode from the Land & Legacy podcast, the conversation zeroes in on how timber management directly impacts turkey populations—and why most properties fall short simply because the woods are too closed and stagnant. A major takeaway is that turkeys thrive in open, diverse timber—not mature, shaded forests. The guys emphasize that many landowners mistakenly believe “big timber” equals good habitat, when in reality, closed-canopy woods limit sunlight, suppress understory growth, and ultimately reduce the insects and ground cover that poults depend on for survival. The episode breaks down how to correct that through intentional disturbance: Timber stand improvem...

Does Burning Create More Turkeys? It is widely known the value that prescribed fire can play in habitat management for wild turkeys. However, we commonly see folks burning during improper timing, frequencies, and/or in areas that are not ready for fire, meaning unthinned timber. Fire in closed canopies may actually in some cases make turkey habitat worse. During this podcast, we discuss the proper steps and directions for those looking to improve the habitat with fire for turkeys. Brooding cover, nesting cover, and overall better foraging opportunities for adult birds are all topics of discussion. We hope this podcast...

Most landowners overlook a simple yet powerful strategy—you can dramatically improve deer habitat and hunting success by strategically logging and creating early successional growth. In this episode, Adam Keith reveals the surprisingly straightforward approach that transformed one two-acre oak-hickory stand into a deer magnet in just four years. Amid hectic farm life, Adam shares behind-the-scenes details of a fascinating logging experiment—leaving mid-story trees to optimize deer bedding and forage while minimizing habitat disturbance. You’ll discover how a gentle, targeted clear-cut, followed by prescribed burns and native grass establishment, can boost wildlife movement, increase browse, and turn y...

The NWTF is doubling down on science-led conservation strategy A dedicated research leadership role signals a new era of coordinated, national-scale research Investments in research and partnerships are driving data-backed wildlife management decisions Conservation is not just about wildlife—it’s about preserving outdoor traditions and ecosystems for future generations

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...

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...

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...

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 su...

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...

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 question...

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...