Steve’s Farm is a 137 acre parcel of land located between Mora and Hinkley, MN. The property is an active farm used for the production of corn and soybeans. Currently 27 of the 137 acres are used for crop production, which is an important component of the wildlife management plan. The remaining 110 acres are mixed forest, wetlands, food plots and apple trees. In 2020 the two fields along the east side of the property were fenced in for the establishment of a commercial apple orchard. In 2021 the field at the southwest corner of the property will be converted entirely into a smorgasbord of food plots containing of corn, soybeans, oats, sugar beets, daikon radish, brassica mix and other food sources. The crops in this field will remain available to wildlife throughout the year, no harvest of this field will occur.
Steve’s Vision/Mission
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Steve’s farm has been a 10 year labor of love to provide the best habitat, food sources, and minimal human intrusion for the development of Trophy Class Whitetail Deer and abundant Turkey populations. Our goal is to provide very high quality hunting opportunities.
Steve is an avid bow hunter and will be sharing the Farm with you as he pursues another trophy buck. "I am very selective about bucks that I shoot and have passed up numerous bucks that would have scored 150 and below." |
What You Get and What You Don’t
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You will get access to the best parcel of hunting land in the entire area. For the bow hunters, we maintain about 14 permanent tree stands, strategically located in the prime hunting areas. These locations have been selected based on thousands of hours of field experience to provide the highest probability of encountering one of the properties Trophy Bucks. The property is known locally as the “Deer Sanctuary” and for good reason. The deer are never pressured, never hunted with guns and given every reason to stay on the property.
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Turkey hunters will have access to between 7 and 10 ground blinds that we put out in early April. We also provide a high quality swivel chair that you move from blind to blind as you hunt various locations. Most blind locations will overlook food plots or fields, but some are tucked away in the woods along known feeding corridors. We can relocate blinds if the birds are not cooperating. High quality decoys do help, we encourage you to bring your own decoys. You may also bring your own blind if you wish. Stalking the property for Turkeys is discouraged as it tends to push the birds off the property.
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What you don’t get is a guide service, a game retrieval and processing service, lodging, camping or food. We are not trying to be a hunting service or outfitter, instead we are trying to put all our efforts in land and wildlife management to provide the absolute best hunting opportunity and experience.
We will give you advice though on which stands have better odds of seeing Trophy Bucks or the best blind locations for the Gobblers. We maintain trail cameras and will provide you with updates of wildlife activity. |
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Food Plots
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Every year we plant food plots for the benefit of wildlife. We currently have five food plots that are planted with various food sources. Our typical food plot consists of corn, soybeans and a brassica mix. In 2021, we will be expanding our food plots to include the entire 4.5 acre south field. This field will contain, Corn, Soybeans, Oats, Sugar Beet, Turnip, Kale, Rapeseed, Daikon Radish and several varieties of Brassicas. These food plots are a powerful deer and turkey attractant especially as cold weather sets in and other food sources dry up or are harvested.
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Year Round Wildlife Management
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Food plots provide a beneficial source of food during the fall and early winter. As winter progresses, our Deer Herd and Turkey Flocks expand. Attracted by the standing corn or other crops located in our food plots, our available food sources dwindle down to bare ground. The 50 to 100 deer wintering on or near our property puts an unsustainable pressure on the available food resources. Keeping our Deer and Turkey in good health leads to larger Turkey flocks, healthier fawns, and bucks that start developing antlers earlier that grow larger.
To maintain our wildlife though the tough times of winter, we provide an added food source through the use of two 105 bushel fully automated feeders. The feeders are filled in the fall with corn and then activated in early winter. Putting out over a bushel of corn each day on a timed schedule the Deer and Turkey, have a reliable high energy food source to assist them in staying healthy through the worst of winter. Since the feeders are fully automated, we only occasionally check on them, limiting human and wildlife contact.
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Apple Orchards
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If you have ever been to or heard about unprotected apple orchards located in deer country, you know how powerful this fruit can be for attracting deer. For the past decade we have been learning through the school of hard knocks how to raise and care for apple trees. We have had many failures and some successes and feel that we are starting to turn the corner in maintaining healthy apple trees.
Currently we have 42 apple trees and 10 different varieties planted in four locations. In the end, we believe that these efforts will pay off and make our property the premier deer habitat in the area. While apple trees have been a struggle, we believe that the orchards will prove to be the attractive force and final piece of the puzzle that will bring large numbers of Does to the property earlier in the fall setting the stage for outstanding rut activity. One thing we know for certain, where there are Does there will be Bucks, and the largest concentration of Does will attract the most dominant and largest Bucks in the area. |
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Minerals
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Antler development and the production of healthy fawns is greatly enhanced by the addition of vitamins and minerals to the diets of the Does, Bucks and Fawns. To supplement the nutritional needs of the deer herd, we maintain on a year round basis mineral blocks formulated by an animal nutrition company that provide these vital nutrients. We have seen first hand the difference deer nutrition can make and are believers.
Not only are the mineral blocks good for the wildlife, they are also another attractant that sets our property apart. Our philosophy is simple; if one mineral block site is good, two must be better! Two mineral sites also spreads the pressure out and reduces the competition between the deer. |
