01/29/2026
I recently had the opportunity to spend time on a new consulting property in Green County, Wisconsin, and it was one of those days that sticks with you.
South-central Wisconsin is often thought of as open farm country, and this property fit that description in a big way—nearly 99% tillable, with very little timber on the tract itself. At first glance, it’s the kind of place most people would assume is flat, simple, and limited from a habitat perspective.
But this one wasn’t.
What made it special was the topography. Rolling elevation changes ran through the fields, creating structure and separation you don’t often see in areas dominated by agriculture. In some ways, it felt like looking like pieces of the Driftless Area that had simply been stripped of their trees over time—the bones of the land still there, just repurposed.
The landowner’s vision made it even better. The goal wasn’t a quick fix or a short-term result. It was a long view—decades, if needed—to begin transforming this farm ground back into something closer to what it once was. Timber. Warm-season grasses. Diverse cover. A landscape that could once again function as meaningful habitat for deer and other wildlife.
Standing there, it was easy to start imagining what this place could become. That’s one of the things I enjoy most about this work—taking land that feels “used up” or locked into one identity and helping re-envision it through the lens of habitat, structure, and time.
Open farm country doesn’t always mean flat, lifeless, or uninteresting. Sometimes, it just means the canvas is wide open—and the challenge is even better.
