#417 - Why Jared Mills Still Mobile Hunts on His Farms: How Smart Landowners Build Better Hunting Farms
The WHTL Podcast - Whitetail Deer Hunting Tactics, Stories & Expert Guests
Jake Hofer
4.9 • 616 Ratings
🗓️ 26 May 2026
⏱️ 64 minutes
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Summary
We Discuss:
- Diversity is the foundation of elite whitetail habitat
- Younger growth and lower cover create superior bedding areas
- Tree plantings become productive habitat faster than most expect
- Access strategy often matters more than food plot size
- Logged timber can dramatically improve deer usage after regrowth
- Monoculture grass struggles unless mixed with structure and edge
- Most farms have untapped habitat potential with proper management
- The first land purchase is the hardest step for most buyers
- Successful landowners focus on long-term appreciation and improvement
- Great hunting farms are built through pressure control and cover density
And So Much More!
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I still really enjoy the fun aspect of hunting. I still like getting beat a lot out in the woods. |
| 0:04.5 | And so like from a manipulation standpoint, I do a lot more of that on other people's farms. |
| 0:09.4 | Like I don't do very much actual movement manipulation. I just want them to be there. |
| 0:14.2 | Hey, welcome back to the White Tote Podcast. This is Jake Hofer. And this episode is from the Land Podcast. |
| 0:19.4 | And we recorded this at the Iowa Deer Classic with Jared Mills and Chris Jones. |
| 0:23.0 | Those guys aren't talking about your specific situation. |
| 0:25.5 | We live in a world where everyone's trying to be the expert or go viral with something. |
| 0:29.5 | And a lot of times it just doesn't apply to your situation. |
| 0:32.7 | And you got to understand that. |
| 0:34.3 | We talk about Jared's process of setting up a farm, being analytical, navigating CRP contracts, how to set it up. And I think what is really interesting is Jared hunts private ground, but he still is running and gunning and hunting mobily on places that he has already set up. And I feel like a lot of people can relate to it. And hopefully you'll be able to pick something up without further ado. Let's get into it. |
| 0:54.5 | Here we go. |
| 1:11.7 | Jared, Chris, thanks for hopping on the podcast here this morning. Yeah, thanks for having us. Yeah, appreciate it. Yeah, absolutely. So we're at the IOD deer classic, and we were just talking beforehand. And a lot of questions. Jared, you've bought and sold a lot of farms over the years. Chris, you're involved in a bunch of different projects just to rip the painted off. |
| 1:11.7 | And both of your opinions, to rip the bandit off. |
| 1:15.0 | And both of your opinions, what is the ideal white tail habitat? |
| 1:18.2 | When someone's looking to buy a farm, I know we were talking about tree plantations, |
| 1:23.8 | WRP farms, what gets you excited when you're in the hunt for a farm? And then what has you not excited at all? |
| 1:26.7 | Yeah. |
| 1:27.5 | Honestly, the short answer, I think. for a farm and then what has you not excited at all? Yeah. |
| 1:33.8 | Honestly, the short answer, I think what makes up the best is diversity. I think if you can find a farm that has a little bit of everything, that always seems to serve it the best. |
| 1:39.7 | But in my personal experience, just based on the farms that I've had the chance to to hunt or own or just manage |
| 1:47.9 | i love those those farms that have a lot of lower cover you know those tree planting |
| 1:53.7 | type farms where it just feels like the whole farms a bedding area they're there they're so it |
... |
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