Last year, the MeatEater team purchased a 64-acre farm in the heart of Michigan. The goal? To turn the ordinary farm property into a wildlife haven perfect for hunters.

The team spent 2019 working the land, assessing the property and determining what was needed to transform it into a hunting paradise. From battling stubborn mowers to taking new hunters out onto the property, the MeatEater team made the most of the year on the “Back 40” and is getting ready for another busy season.

MeatEater’s Mark Kenyon notes, “2019 was all about learning the Back 40 and generating a plan to improve it for both deer hunting and biodiversity. In 2020 we’ll be executing on those ideas. Over the coming months we’ll be restoring native prairie with prescribed fire, removing invasive species, establishing new grassland and pollinator plantings, implementing new food plots with regenerative agriculture principles and much more. In short, our hands will be dirty, our schedules packed and our hopes high.”

We’ll soon be talking more with Mark about what’s coming for the Back 40, so stay tuned. Here’s a look at what went on at the Back 40 this past season.