288± Acre Farm, Hunting & Black River Property | Melrose, Jackson

Located at N1590 Lovell Street near
Melrose, this 288± acre Jackson County property is the kind of place that can
play more than one role. It is currently operating as a working dairy farm,
with productive crop and hay ground, established livestock facilities and the
infrastructure needed to keep a farm moving. But follow the fields back into
the property and you’ll find another side altogether—rolling hardwood ridges,
thick cover, secluded ponds and approximately 1.25± miles of frontage along the
Black River.

At the center of it all is a spacious
5-bedroom farmhouse built in 1999. Around it are approximately 100± acres of
productive open ground and a well-established farmstead. Beyond that is a large
block of recreational ground with the food, water, cover and terrain that make
this part of Jackson County well known for deer and turkey hunting.

The dairy operation is an important part
of what has been built here, but it doesn’t have to define what comes next.
Continue farming as it sits, transition into beef or another livestock
operation, develop a more diversified and self-sufficient farmstead, or make
agriculture one part of a larger hunting and recreational property.

There is enough ground here to do a
little bit of everything—and enough infrastructure already in place to get
started.

A Country Home That Fits the Property

Built in 1999, the 5-bedroom, 3-bath
farmhouse was laid out with both space and everyday country living in mind.

Coming in from the attached 2-car garage,
you’re greeted by a mudroom and main-floor laundry—an especially useful setup
when your day involves the barn, fields, woods or Wisconsin weather. Boots and
work clothes have a place to land before entering the main part of the home.

The main floor opens into a large kitchen
and dining area with enough room to serve as the everyday gathering place of
the house. The adjoining living room provides plenty of space to settle in at
the end of the day, while a main-floor bedroom and full bathroom add
flexibility to the layout.

Upstairs you’ll find four additional
bedrooms, another full bathroom and plenty of closet space. Storage was clearly
part of the plan when the home was built, with useful closets throughout both
floors.

The unfinished basement adds even more
room. It is already stubbed for a fourth bathroom, provides substantial storage
and has direct access to the garage. A future owner could leave it just as it
is for work and storage space or look at finishing a portion of it down the
road.

It’s not a house that was dropped onto a
farm as an afterthought. The mudroom, laundry, garage access, storage and
overall floor plan make sense for someone who actually spends their time
outside and on the property.

A Working Farm With a Practical Layout

The farm is currently operating as a
dairy, and the barnyard has been laid out around the day-to-day work that goes
with it.

An 80+ stanchion barn anchors the
operation and includes covered feed bunks and a dedicated feed-mixing area. A
concrete cow yard helps with cleaning and maintenance, while the location of
the surrounding buildings keeps feed, livestock, machinery and equipment within
a workable area.

Additional improvements include a hay
storage shed, machine shed, multiple loafing sheds, calf barn and an older
granary/chicken coop.

The advantage here isn’t simply having a
long list of buildings. It’s having buildings that have been used together as
part of an active farm.

For the next owner, that could mean
continuing the dairy operation much as it sits. It could also mean beef cattle
or another livestock operation where the existing feeding areas, livestock
buildings, storage and concrete already have value. For someone looking at a
diversified farmstead, the combination of buildings gives you room for
livestock, poultry, hay, machinery, feed and storage without starting from
scratch.

Water Infrastructure That Adds to the Farm

Water is well established across the
property.

Two drilled wells serve the home and
barnyard. In addition, a separate irrigation well capable of approximately 500
GPM and powered by a stationary engine is rated to serve approximately 40±
acres.

That adds another useful tool for the
productive side of the farm and gives a future owner options when looking at
crop production and how the open acreage is managed.

Away from the farmstead, multiple ponds
and the Black River add water to the recreational side of the property as well.

Approximately 100± Acres of Productive Open Ground

Approximately 40± acres of fertile
tillable ground are currently being used for row crops, with another 60± acres
of open tillable ground being utilized for grass-hay production.

That gives the farm approximately 100±
acres of productive open ground supporting the current operation.

For a traditional farm buyer, those acres
provide crop and forage production. For someone looking at a more diversified
setup, there is room to think about livestock, pasture, hay, crops, gardens and
other food production. And for the recreational buyer, the relationship between
those fields and the surrounding timber is every bit as important.

Large agricultural fields provide an
established food source along a substantial block of cover. That transition
from open ground into timber creates miles of edge and gives deer and turkey a
reason to move between the two.

It’s one of the places where the farming
and recreational sides of the property work well together.

Once You Leave the Fields, It’s a Different Property

The wooded portion of these 288± acres is
made up of mature mixed hardwoods spread across rolling Western Wisconsin
terrain.

There isn’t just one ridge or one
timbered hillside here. Numerous ridges, dips, draws and elevation changes
break up the property, along with sections of thicker understory that provide
bedding and security cover.

For a whitetail hunter, that’s important.

The crop and hay ground provide food. The
thicker areas provide cover. Ridges, draws and terrain changes give deer
natural ways to travel between the two. Ponds and the Black River add water,
while the sheer size of the property gives an owner room to manage hunting
pressure and access.

On a smaller hunting property, you often
have to make the same few acres serve as food, bedding, access and hunting
ground. With 288± acres, there is room to spread things out.

A future owner can begin looking at
bedding areas, sanctuary ground, stand access, food sources, timber management
and habitat improvements as pieces of a larger plan rather than isolated
projects.

The mix is equally attractive for wild
turkey, with hardwood timber, open fields, edge habitat and plenty of room for
birds to move throughout the property.

Ponds & Waterfowl Habitat

Multiple ponds are located within the
timber, creating additional wildlife habitat away from the main farmstead.

Those secluded ponds add another water
source for deer and other wildlife while also providing habitat for wood ducks
and other waterfowl.

It’s another small detail that adds up on
a property this size. You’re not relying on one habitat type. Crop ground, hay
fields, mature timber, thick cover, ponds and river bottom all come together
within the same tract.

1.25± Miles Along the Black River

Follow the property far enough and you
eventually reach one of its biggest recreational features—the Black River.

Approximately 1.25± miles of river
frontage gives the property a completely different dimension.

The Black River offers fishing
opportunities for species including walleye, northern pike, smallmouth bass,
muskellunge, catfish and panfish. The river corridor adds waterfowl hunting
opportunities as well, while kayaking, canoeing and tubing provide another way
to enjoy the property during the warmer months.

For someone who spends a lot of time
outside, that’s where a property like this starts to make sense beyond dollars
per acre or the number of buildings.

A spring morning might be spent chasing
turkeys before checking fields later in the day. Summer brings hay, crops,
fishing and time on the river. By fall, the same farm transitions into deer and
waterfowl country.

There is always another part of the
property to use.

A Working Dairy Today, But It Doesn’t Have to Stop There

There is value in the fact that this is
an operating farm. The buildings aren’t theoretical. The barnyard isn’t an old
setup that hasn’t been used in years. The crop and hay ground are part of an
active agricultural operation.

At the same time, a buyer doesn’t have to
be looking for a traditional dairy farm to understand what is here.

The livestock facilities could serve
another agricultural operation. Approximately 100± acres of productive open
ground can continue producing crops and forage. The irrigation well adds
another option for managing part of that acreage. The granary/chicken coop,
storage buildings and livestock facilities lend themselves to a more
diversified farmstead.

For someone interested in becoming more
self-sufficient, there is enough land and infrastructure here to raise
livestock, grow crops and food, cut hay, keep poultry, manage timber and hunt
their own ground.

And for someone whose priority is hunting
and recreation, the working acreage can remain productive while nearly 300
acres of timber, fields, ponds and river frontage provide room to manage a
serious recreational property.

Whether the next owner continues what’s
here today or takes the farm in another direction, the future is right out your
back door..