LandTrust Blog

Nebraska encompasses the prairies of the Great Plains, the towering dunes of the Sandhills, lush river bottoms that flow into the Missouri, and the panhandle’s dramatic rock formations. This diverse collection of terrain has allowed the whitetail population to boom in recent decades, however, it wasn’t always that way. Due to unlimited hunting in Nebraska, deer were nearly extinct by 1900. The Nebraska Legislature passed a law prohibiting the hunting of deer in 1907, but recovery took decades. It wasn’t until 1945 that the first modern deer season began with a harvest of 275 mule deer and two white-tailed deer. Over half a century later, whitetail deer have taken over and are now found in abundance statewide!

By John Hansen

Land ownership has been important to humankind as far back as we can we can determine from archeological, oral, and written histories. Starting with hunter/gatherer territories, through fiefdoms and kingdoms, to ultimately, private land ownership. This progression of, and desire for, land ownership has been driven by the desire for establishment and maintenance of food sources, security, and attainment of relative wealth. Individual land ownership, a historically recent development, has also yielded the aspect of diversification of wealth, privacy, and quiet enjoyment (read recreation) of the property.

LandTrust is excited to partner with GoWild. 

GoWild is a free social media community and gear platform for outdoor enthusiasts. The team discusses the best gear, new tactics, and is always learning.

Did you know that in Nebraska, you can buy an over-the-counter rifle mule deer tag as a non-resident? There are plenty of other states that offer OTC archery mule deer tags, but these states follow the trend of crowded public lands and don’t provide the variety of hunting options you might be looking for.

Landowners are talking about recreation as the new crop and LandTrust is proving there’s a simple way to tap into this additional income. Listing your land on LandTrust connects landowners to the recreation access network. Millions of outdoor enthusiasts are looking for opportunities to explore private land for their favorite activities such as photography, hunting, birding, fishing and more! LandTrust is working on expanding access nationwide, but currently focusing on growth in the central region in states such as Nebraska and Kansas. We are very excited to announce our partnership with the Kansas Farm Bureau as we grow throughout the grain belt!

For Sportsmen of all ages and experience levels, a safe and quiet place to hunt is important. Competing against the orange army on public land during the season is frustrating and dangerous at times.  The National Deer Association, which educates thousands of new hunters each year, emphasizes safety during hunting training and makes sure its members are knowledgeable and protected. They prioritize this and look for partners that can help support this mission. That is why they recently partnered with LandTrust.

Having grown up on a farm, I considered the opportunity to join the Climate Corporation back in 2015 as their Chief Technology Officer one of the privileges of my career. Since that time, the use of digital tools in commercial agriculture has become the norm, helping to highlight the productivity of a producer’s operation by making better decisions. Growers and service providers alike now use data to understand the results of side-by-side trials, treatments, seeding rates, fertility, water, heat, and ultimately yields. 

Now the industry is evolving and adopting newer practices, intended to be better for the environment and more sustainable for soil health and biodiversity. You can’t pick up any ag publication today without reading about “regenerative ag” and it’s attracting a lot of investment dollars to help producers with adoption and implementation. If digital tools were all about quantifying productivity, these new practices add a layer of purpose on top. 

Last week, we introduced Ches Meyer as one of our proud LandTrust Landowners. Ches took us through his journey of signing up as a landowner: the skepticism, the reassuring and then the reward that he and his family experienced in doing so. However, Ches’s direct relationship with LandTrust did not end once he signed up. In fact, Ches has continued to work very closely with the LandTrust team every day. In particular, with Mike Ryan.

We've never had a bad hunter!  It’s been great to connect with sportsmen who want to come out here. We’ve been blessed with hunters who want to take care and pride in...

Landowner Revenue Dashboard

Thank you to all our landowners who have generously been providing feedback to make LandTrust better for everyone. Today, we are introducing a whole new way for landowners to see the revenue you’ve earned on LandTrust and much more. Earned, expected, and even potential revenue from sportsman inquiries are now visible in your personalized landowner dashboard! Landowners are the foundation of what makes LandTrust unique. We think this new dashboard will make it easier for you to manage inquiries as well as learn helpful tips to get more bookings. A full breakdown of the new landowner dashboard is below. 

Todd Decker Testimonial

Reflecting back on the spring turkey season, we can all agree it was more successful and enjoyable than the 2020 season. With fewer unknowns in the world and the ability to control more variables, we saw many of our LandTrust sportsmen have great trips! Among them, was Todd Decker, a Denver resident who is always facing a challenge when it comes to land access in Colorado.