Hi Guys, i have a question, i just recently purchased 28 acres in upstate NY and want to put in a food plot and/or apple trees, approx 1 acre. i do not have any access to machinery nor the know how of doing it. my question is that the guy is willing to trade services for taking mature hardwood off my land....is it worth it? i know he would be taking any mature oak that produces acorns. Am i hurting myself? should i just pay him in cash and not allow him to take trees??
I wouldn't let him take trees. Unless you are hard up for cash. I would rather hunt a timber with acorns and oaks than one with just a food plot.
My guess is that a mature oak tree is going to be just as effective as a food source as a couple of fruit trees. If you could find an area that was NOT your oak trees, then I might say go for it. Otherwise I would suggest multiple small kill plots instead of one big chunk. If there are small clearings in there, say 20x30 yards, you can turn those into little plots using nothing but hand tools. Once the bugs die down around here that's my plan for a couple spots.
If you are going to be clearing trees to put in the food plot then I would say let him take them as long as he takes the entire tree. But as others have said I would avoid taking out any of your good trees.
