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October 26, 2016
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Howdy, I am Jeff from Rio, Wisconsin and a "Cheesehead" since I was born on the South side of Milwaukee 64 years ago. I am a hunter, target shooter and gun collector. I have owned a couple of Dan Wesson pistol packs but had to sell one off years ago when I needed money for my prescription medicines.
I currently own a 15-2 pistol pack and plan on keeping it until I depart this planet.
I own a 122 acre tree farm in the town of Almond, Portage county Wisconsin. I practice quality deer management on it and have for the past 25 years. I am a life member of the Waupaca Conservation club and the Columbus sportsman's club. I also belong to the Winnequah gun club and do most of my long range shooting at that location. I have a 25 yard range in the backyard of my residence.
GO PACKERS !!
February 16, 2016
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to 
Nice to have the property for your own long range target practice facility and personal hunting preserve.
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June 11, 2016
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Welcome from a fellow Cheesehead from Mt. Pleasant Wisconsin in Racine County.
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Dans Club
December 4, 2011
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Welcome from PA! What type of trees do you raise?
Anything worth doing is worth doing well.
My father
If a man designed it, and a man built it, then a man can fix it.
My grandfather
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February 22, 2009
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SCORPIO said
Welcome from PA! What type of trees do you raise?
Please don't say Apple........
Technically, the glass is always full; half liquid, half air....
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July 2, 2011
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rwsem said
Please don't say Apple........
Pleeeease don't
To the paranoid people who check behind shower curtains for murderers:
if you find one...what's your plan?
October 26, 2016
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I raise pine trees. I have red pine for pulp and white pine for a different kind of tree. I had a cut your own Christmas tree business with Frazier Firs as the primary tree for sale. Two bad knees forced me to give that up. I have a small 1/4 mile strip of 8 rows of 50+ foot tall blue spruce trees that were planted by the former owner. I am not sure on the apple tree comment, but I do have 30 mature apple trees that are just for the deer and turkeys. My farm also has oak, cherry, and popple (aspen) on it. 24 years ago I clear cut about 12 acres of Scotch pines and 5 acres of black locust. Both of these areas have regenerated into oak and cherry woodlands. One of the best moves I ever did was the clear cuts.
My 12 acre prairie was planted 24 years ago and has 5 different grasses and 20 forbs in the mixture. I like variety and have it on my farm. I did my first every third row thinning of the red pines three years ago. That is a long time to raise a crop without a return on it. Since then the sunlight has just done miracles to the understory of the pines. They have developed a lot of good trees and berry bushes in them and the deer and other wildlife now use them more than ever before. I am in a constant battle with the black locusts that have come up after the clear cut.
I have deer, turkeys, grouse, rabbits, squirrels, black bears, coyotes, red foxes and all sort of birds, insects and butterflies on the land.
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July 2, 2011
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Wow Jeff, sounds like you planted your own little slice of heaven. Do you hunt your land?
To the paranoid people who check behind shower curtains for murderers:
if you find one...what's your plan?
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March 25, 2013
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Wow, sounds like heaven. Black locusts make rot proof fence posts and tool handles. They are a weed tree though. Do you ever press cider? Lot of work but in the old days it was all they had. In my neck of the woods pine grow like corn. You can almost see them grow. Ron's area too. Michigan supplied the nation's pine timber in the 1830's. After they clear cut they came to Florida and did the same. Ours grow back quick though. Not like the old Virgin trees though. Our deer are puny though. Yours would make three of ours.
October 26, 2016
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Yes, I hunt my land for deer, turkeys, coyotes and crows in that order. I occasionally take some small game from it. I don't have an abundant small game and grouse population so I tend to let them make my land their home. I only have the apple trees as part of my management plan for the deer and turkeys. Grouse love apples also. My land is in Central Wisconsin and the soil is very sandy. It is good for growing pine trees and if irrigated, other crops like potatoes. It is very rocky. If field stones are ever worth anything, I will be a rich man. To see the large stone piles on my land and know that they were all mostly removed by hand makes me wonder at the strength and will power of early settlers and farmers. I have an older 14'x52' mobile home that is my headquarters when I stay overnight on my property. All three of my entrances have locked gates to stop the trespassing problem I had many years ago. I am a prairie enthusiast so I converted and old corn field into a 12 acre restored prairie that has 5 prairie grasses and 20 different forbs in the mix. I use the UW- Stevens Point volunteer student fire crew to conduct my controlled burns and have done 6 of these so far. I have a Kubota L345 DT 4x4 tractor with front end loader and several implements to do the work on my land. Brush hog, 55 gallon pull behind PTO sprayer, land pride 6 foot disc, roller, back blade and PTO seeder. This year I planted 5 acres of Round ready corn and 9 acres of RR soy beans in a total of 4 different food plots just for the deer. I have sanctuary areas that are only mowed once a year. I rent out a 12 acre field to a farmer friend who has it in alfalfa. The deer love it and I get a free food plot out of this deal. My land has a road system on it so the farthest I ever have to drag a deer is no more than 50 yards to the nearest pick up point on my roads. There are 18 deer stands on the property. One 8'x8 which serves as a garage for my Kubota also, three 4'x8,' ten 4'x4', three 4'x6' ground blinds and a pop up that I move around. I put in a 6 inch rotary drilled well and have a buried 400 amp electric service for my land. The land perc tested just fine so I put in a standard drain field for my septic system. My pond is about 5k square feet and is 75 yards from my mobile home. It is fed by a separate pump in the well. I have a system that enables me to use my air compressor to clear the lines when I want to shut it down for cold weather or work on it. Last season it was open until the end of November.
Some guys take expensive hunting trips out West. I put all my time and money over the last 25 years into my little piece of paradise. It keeps me out of trouble. After a day working on the land all I want to do is sleep. I don't usually brag about my land, but since questions were asked about it I felt okay to boast a little.
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February 22, 2009
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That's exactly what I've started...only on a much smaller scale; native grass and forbs with Longleaf pine on 15 acres. Water oak is interspersed for the deer and sanctuary for the bobwhite. I've about got all the sweetgum and tallow removed- one more application of Oust this fall before the first frost should do it.
5 acres for the homestead will have pecan trees and yet to be determined fruit- probably satsuma and pears and of course, a small garden.
Glad to have you on the forum
Technically, the glass is always full; half liquid, half air....
February 16, 2016
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Jeff Kuzma said
But since questions were asked about it I felt okay to boast a little.
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January 24, 2009
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Wow, it sounds amazing! So much of your life's work coming to fruition before your eyes, very impressive. I would love to see your slice of heaven one day.
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July 2, 2011
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Sounds to me like you have it set up just about perfectly.
To the paranoid people who check behind shower curtains for murderers:
if you find one...what's your plan?
October 26, 2016
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One of the great things about my clear cuts, tree planting and prairie restoration is that I did it very early on in my land ownership. I have seen pines planted as 2 year seedlings and 2 year transplants which is a 12 to 14 inch tree, grow to over 50+ feet tall. The clear cuts have regenerated with oak, cherry and popple in place of the hated Scotch pine and black locust. My prairie did nothing for the first two years. I wondered if I was crazy to spend over $1k per acre on the project. Now it has grasses six to seven feet tall and every year it is different. Mother Nature works on her own schedule. My electric power was put in before the power company charged for every foot of wire from the road. It cost me just over a grand and now would run $10K+. A 200 amp service is the most one can get now days.
It was and is a labor of love. I was fortunate to have the time and money for this project. When I leave this planet I will go with the knowledge that I left that piece of land in better condition than I found it. I guess that amounts to a good thing.
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December 5, 2008
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Definitely a good thing. Something to be proud of!
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July 2, 2011
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If you have some pictures of the property, I'd sure love to see them.
To the paranoid people who check behind shower curtains for murderers:
if you find one...what's your plan?
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