At Jon Kohler & Associates, we have 30 years of experience working beside some of the Southeast’s most steadfast land stewards. Men and women who own land not necessarily for financial gain, but for spiritual reward. These landowners have a goal beyond present-day enjoyment and more toward historical reverence and conservation for the future. Keeping land natural and healthy is a lot of work! Unsurprisingly, it takes a team to do all this. In steps the Land Manager – the individual with the energy and know-how to implement the landowner’s goals and turn these worthy pursuits into reality.
From day one of Jon Kohler & Associates, we’ve revered the land manager. To us, he likens with advisors from the Old Testament such as Daniel or Joseph in their role to the Pharaoh. The land manager may not be the king but on these properties he’s the closest thing to it. His power lies in the fact that the landowner knows he will not prosper without his solid work ethic or heeding their good advice. It takes a rare skill set of knowledge, ambition and resources to manage the constraints they are under. Put it all together – and they do it all even in the high heat of July through September.
“I have to admit, I have a bit of envy for how land managers spend their day – until the dog days of summer.” – Jon Kohler
While historically a physically laborious profession, today’s land managers must bring a certain savvy to the job. They must understand today’s science of land management. There are national and local resources, such as Quail Forever and Tall Timbers, that share knowledge and support to help with just that. However, with upheaval and supply chain issues the norm these days, land managers are running major operations, with high monetary value, on limited resources given that prices on necessities such as fertilizer and fuel continue to rise. Shortages of things as simple as feed are commonplace.
“Wild quail and good aesthetics are number one, products of fire and number two, products of diesel.”
– Jon Kohler
Even with these challenges, if there is anyone on this Earth more passionate about a tract of land than the landowner himself, it is the land manager. Most likely, this individual has had his hand in land management since, well, someone they respected in their youth first introduced them to it. For most, it started with a childhood reverence. Seldom does one just decide, to go into this complex field without being grounded in the land.
“I believe God called me to land stewardship,” – Walter Hatchett, Jon Kohler & Associates. “Even as an unsteady toddler, I always wondered off to the woods – much to my mother’s horror. I just couldn’t keep my eyes off it. I had a desire to know everything growing and living out in that wood. A feeling that still sticks with me today.”
It takes that sort of passion along with a healthy dose of grit and a huge portion of work ethic to manage a tract of land along with the owner’s goals and their guests’ expectations – all with Mother Nature’s input. The land, the weather, and the wild game are not completely in our control. We can plant a tract of pine today, only to have a pop-up windstorm knock half of it down tomorrow. Maybe it’s that challenge – a bit of taming the wild – that gets the property manager out of bed before sunrise each day.
“The greatest reward from all those years managing property is going back, 30 plus years later, and seeing the results: Superior deer because of the management program I put in place years and years before. Or, a stand of trees I planted as seedings that are now imposing sentinels of the property.”
– Walter Hatchett
There is something Biblical about caring for the land, and something equally redeeming about taking land that has been damaged and restoring it. It is in Genesis, the first book of the Bible, where God outlines man’s dominion over Earth:
“God said, Let Us make man in Our image…and let them have dominion…over all of Earth…” Genesis 1:26
The work done by land managers is directed by God. God created Earth. He gave man dominion over it. The land managers today are following his directive while also creating beauty and sustenance that will last well into the future.
So, here’s to the land managers – those unsung heroes of land stewardship that are daily working the land, with a little bit of grit, and help and direction from God above.
Bruce Ratliff is a retired elected official (Property Appraiser Taylor County). Bruce brings years of experience in ad valorem tax knowledge. His property tax background gives JKA Associates & clients a unique insight into the complicated tax process. Bruce held several positions in the Florida Association of Property Appraisers, including member of the Board of Directors, President, Vice-President and Secretary, and served on the Agricultural & Legislative Committees for the Association. The real estate business has been part of Bruce’s life since childhood. His mother, Shirley Ratliff owned Professional Realty of Perry, Florida and his father, Buster owned Ratliff Land Surveying which Bruce was General Manager of before his political career.
From murky farm ponds to pristine glacier-cut lakes and everything in between, Knox Daniels’ expertise stems from a lifelong fascination of water and the creatures that live in and around it. He recognizes and helps clients appreciate the value water features bring to a property. “My goal is to help buyers realize and sellers maximize the value different water bodies bring to a property, not only in a recreational sense, but also for social storm reasons.” After extensively traveling the country for collegiate BASS fishing tournaments, Knox graduated and worked for the Southeast’s finest fisheries and wildlife biologist, Greg Grimes. With Grimes’ company, AES, Knox managed many of the southeast’s finest private lake estate/impoundment properties, and learned the intricacies of upscale property management. Learning from Greg and other biologists, Knox honed in on the specific conditions and habitat needed for optimal gamefish growth in private lakes. He has also worked as a property manager on several thousand acres and for a commercial developer, facilitating the dirt work and builds of several apartment complexes, but his true passion has always been in the outdoors. “I’ve always had an insatiable fascination with ponds/lakes and am grateful to be able to help to place clients on the properties of their dreams and make their personal fisheries/wildlife goals reality with JKA.” – Knox Daniels
As a landowner of his own family farm, Lick Skillet, along with family land that has been passed down and enjoyed together at Keaton Beach for 40 years, Jon knows what it means to be a steward of the last best places. As a third-generation land broker with more than 30 years of experience in advising landowners in this niche, Jon is known for his innate ability to harvest a land’s unique intrinsic value. Touting several notable sales under his belt, Jon personally closed Rock Creek/Molpus – 124,000 acres of premium timberland at $142,000,000 – which was known as the largest timberland land sale in the Southeast for eight years running. He is a co-founding member of LandLeader and achieved the real estate industry’s highest honor, “2022 National Broker of the Year – Recreational Land Sales,” by the Realtors® Land Institute.
Prior to joining Jon Kohler & Associates, Walter Hatchett served for 30 years as a land manager to several of the south’s most esteemed properties, including Rock Creek. As a former property manager himself, and a consistently ranked “Top Sales Producer” nationwide and achieved “APEX Top 20 Land Broker” multiple times, Walter has a keen eye for the best in habitat management.
With Madison County roots, Lori grew up on her family farm at Pettis Springs along the historic Aucilla River. A love of the land was instilled in Lori very early on by her father who was a local farmer. Lori understands the importance of good land stewardship and has witnessed first-hand how her own father, a former 2-term member of the Florida House of Representatives whose district encompassed many rural counties of the Red Hills Plantation Region, with a little bit of sweat equity, so lovingly worked their own family land. These are core values she carries with her today, and nothing gives her more personal satisfaction than to represent some of the south’s best land stewards.
Hailing from a long line of outdoorsmen, Tim learned a great deal from his father and grandfather. He saw first-hand what it means to be a good land steward. He believes land is so much more than a place to hunt, fish, and grow timber or crops. “It’s an identity, a resting place, a safe haven and a way of life, said Tim.” Tim’s family ties to Alabama run deep. During his grandfather’s first term, Governor James was responsible for signing into law Alabama’s first state duck stamp which helped to ensure funding for the procurement, development, and preservation of wetlands for migratory waterfowl habitat. He also established Alabama’s lifetime hunting license, so it is no surprise that Tim is an avid outdoorsman with a keen eye as to how best to improve habitat for the greater good of its wildlife.
Jason has been assisting landowners for the last 28 years in Georgia and South Carolina obtain achievements the owners did not realize were possible. His degree in Biology from Georgia Southern stemmed from the desire to know how things in nature work. His plantation roots began at just 16 years old outside of Albany, GA and the last 20 years were spent in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. His entire career has been spent developing a global approach to plantation management. That plan included sales. Sales is in Jason’s blood- his mom had a 45-year career as a real estate broker. After college, he chose to pursue his passion of making properties great. In 2011, Jason sold his first plantation. Since then, he has assisted buyers and sellers with over $20 million in sales while most of that time working as a full-time General Manager of a large Lowcountry plantation. Today, he is committed to using his unique skill set and experience to guide landowners through the many challenges of plantation ownership.