Red Cedar Ranch, LLC is a timber and farming operation with properties in
Mississippi and Kentucky. Our goal is to maximize timber production while
maintaining a healthy balance of hardwoods and pines, as well as, setting aside
a portion of the property in excellent wildlife habitat. From walnuts in
Kentucky to Green Ash in the bottoms of Mississippi, we strive to follow the
best conservation practices we can use. We believe we were chosen to be the
Stuarts of the land and that we should take special care of the the land and
leave it in better shape then when we found it. RCR has replanted many
thousands of hardwoods and loblolly pines, while enhancing wildlife plots with
pears, apples, sawtooths, persimmons, peaches, chestnuts, figs, autumn olives
and other fruit bearing trees. Feed lots have been constructed to provide year
round food for deer and turkeys. A mix of clover, chicory, rape, as well as,
grain crops such as soybeans and winter wheat or planted yearly.
While Timber is our business, Deer hunting is our passion. It is more
than a seasonal event for the crew at Red Cedar Ranch. Special care and
preparation of our food plots and deer blinds is a year long effort. But that's
the fun part. Getting ready! While we believe every deer is a trophy, we have an
extremely conservative approach to deer management weighing heavily on three
elements; Food, Cover and Age. We focus on keeping deer on our land by ample
food sources, keeping them feeling secure by low pressure and restricted cover
areas, and by harvesting old bucks. You can see some of the deer we have taken
here
There
is something amazing about calling a wild tom by mimicking a
sexy hen of the same species. It is one of the most exciting
things a hunter can do. We love our turkeys in both our Kentucky
properties and Mississippi and they have something in common,
they are all smart. We burn our pines and keep open ground mixed
in with our cut areas to provide travel lanes for flocks. The
farmland in Kentucky provides excellent habitat and the hardwood
bottoms in Mississippi can provide some exciting action. Most
land owners ignore turkey management or they believe it is the
opposite of deer management so you cannot do both, however,
there are lots of things a forest owner can do to increase the
number of birds that stay on your land. Controlling predators,
providing nesting areas, creating open travel lanes that turkeys
feel comfortable in, natural food sources and clover plots are
all things that can help while complimenting the deer management
program.
Being the Stuarts of the land doesn't just mean "land". No farm is complete without a water source and we have several lakes and beaver ponds on the RCR holdings. We manage our fish just like our other wildlife, with the intent to constantly improve the habitat and the health of the species. Bass, Bream, Crappie and Catfish are common catches all year long. And with Kentucky lake nearby, there is always a fish to be caught somewhere close. Jake DePrato holds up a stringer that would make any kid proud!
While timber is the crop of the majority of our acreage, some land is just
perfect for growing row crops. We grow soybeans and corn on our Kentucky
properties. It provides a wonderful food source for the wildlife. We are always
looking for more land to farm in Western Kentucky to farm. If you have row crop
land you want to sell we may be interested in buying.