Me too!Looking for deer hunting lease lmk what ya got !
I have said this before
Find a farmer and make him your friend
Offer to help out any way you can
Help with farm work, every farmer needs help they may not act like it but trust me they do
Do you know how to fix stuff? Mechanically inclined? No, do you have a strong back snd a weak mind, perfect. Can you drive snd help move equipment. Shit, can you shovel shit or pick up trash that trespasser leave laying around?
I am quitting farming for health reasons but I almost begged for help here and all I got was stuff like” eww, who would do filthy hard farm type labor, it’s easier just to pay money”
That attitude keeps private land PRIVATE
think about it
Unfortunately landowners like that are a few and far between anymore. While I'm sure some would graciously accept any help they could get in my experience most would rather have the money. When granting permission to hunt on a hundred or so acres can get you six or $7,000 a year which is way more than enough to pay the property taxes that's what they opt for. Least brokers like waterman pay landowners well for permission to sublet their property to hunting clubs. There are also quite a number of landowners who simply refuse to allow anyone to hunt on their property. Not because they are anti-hunting but because of liability concerns. Have somebody accidentally get shot, fall out of a tree stand or get injured in any other way and you could lose your farm. At the very least it could cost you a bundle in legal fees just to clear your name. I've been hunting in Maryland on private property since I was 12 years old. Back when I was a kid it was nothing to go knock on a farmer's door and trade labor for permission. I worked two whole Summers on a 12,000 acre dairy farm in Culpeper Virginia. I worked my ass off tending to the dairy herd, humping bales of hay and moving farm equipment but it was worth it when you knew you had permission to hunt 12,000 acres with only six other people. Those days long gone.
You gotta look harder and try harder
We have always had farmland but I have never, ever, been told no if I wanted to hunt any farmland in southern md. Maybe it’s because of my name, or reputation or the fact that my family has always helped other farmers.
But befriend a farmer, help out , really help out and see how it turns out.
We always needed help. Always. Cutting tobacco. Hauling corn and beans. Moving equipment. Repairing equipment, working on junk. Grading roads, siding barns, cutting tire poles bailing and picking up and stacking hay.
Shit work? Every bit of it, but it’s all gotta be done.
Like I said, I begged, here, and no one wanted to help do “filthy farm work” because giving money was easier. Plenty people offered money, I didn’t need money I needed help. Plenty people just wanted to hunt, no help and no money, hilarious
Wanna hunt, find snd help a farmer. And don’t be the dick that hurts himself or others and sues. You are correct, idiots are a liability not worth taking on