How to buy land
Start with 4 guys, look for a 40 acre parcel to start with, if you have more money, think bigger. Figure out what you want out of your parcel and prioritize. Rent, crops, nesting cover, late season cover, grass, weeds, water, etc.
Plan on 20 to 25% down, 20 year amortization, can go 25, sometimes 30 but best payment value is 20. Payment will be a little over $100 a month per guy. Tell your wife it is a retirement investment akin to a 401k - works great after recent stock market gyrations. If you buy as a group, work out the details BEFORE you buy. Things such as buy sell agreements, how to value if someone wants out, who gets to hunt when, who gets to bring guests, what happens if somenone misses a payment, etc.
Know the local land requirements, if you buy pasture land, you may have a tough time even getting approval to break soil for a food plot. Or the other direction, they also may not like you to take productive land out of production for cover. And in most areas, even if the land isnt in production, local regulations require that the parcel be sprayed for noxious weeds.
When you start looking for land, and you go with a smaller parcel, the best pheasant value is to go with land that isn't cropped. Although everyone loves to hunt a stand of corn or milo, once its picked, it won't hold many birds. A mixture of garss and a food plot will always have some birds and it will only get better as the season progresses.
When looking at land be sure to see the potential not the current status. With a little bit of work each year just about any 40 acre parcel can be a pheasant mecca. Pay special attention to the surrounding land, Most pheasants only range a mile or so from where they are born. Does the surrounding land have good potential? Iamgine what it looks like after harvest, wherre are the birds going to go?
Once you find something you like you have to figure out who is going to manage the land, perform upkeep on fences, spray for weds, put in food plots, watch the proeprty, keep of trespassers etc. This brings us to the next topic.
The best friend to make in South Dakota is one of your neighbors. They will probably not like you at first Most farmers think you are crazy for wanting to farm for a stupid bird. You are going to be that yuppie out of towner driving the fancy truck or SUV, take valauable land out of production (and food and money out of some farmers mouth) drive land prices up for farmers, and blow into town 2 or 3 times a year to tear up their roads. Get to know the local realtors, the local bankers, other business owners, and the neighboring farmers. Spend money in town at the grocery store, hardware store and don't just visit in the fall during hunting season, visit in the spring and summer too.
Also as you close in on your purchase find out what sort of porgrams are out there to improve your poroperty for wildlife. SD has a ton a programs out there. Some may cost share, some may be to provide advice, one of the most popular is the shelter belt planting program. You want birds - have a shelter belt put in. Also find the local conservation district office where you can buy trees.
Lastly. seek out the local Pheasant Forever Chapter. The have biologists that can assess your proety as well as cost share programs for things such as shelter belts, dugout ponds, dirt dams etc. Your property will have much more wildlife with a water source and cattails are a late season magnet. Also when working with the local PF, attend their banquet if posisble (many in SD are 1st or second weekend of season), if you can't make it, buy tickets or support their raffles over the phone, or donate something for their auctions. Going back to the know your neighbors topic, no better way than supporting the local PF chapter - you would be surpirsed how many local business owners are invloved in the local chapters. And anytime you are in town, invite them out to dinner, or buy them a drink, have them join you for a hunt - once you own land out there remember that you are a stakeholder in the local economy.
Good Luck