Episode #125 - Wheat Prices May Change Late Season Hunting
Published: 2022-07-10
Episode page
Duration: 85 min
In this episode
cover-crops
- Don recommends planting the Deadly Dozen the year before soybeans, then spraying and no-till drilling beans directly into the taller regrowth. 13:35
deer-management
- Don says he harvests about five or six bucks per year on his farm, each at least three and a half years old, with minimal intrusion. 64:47
food-plot-advice
- Terry advises that a local farmer can teach food plotters more than YouTube or Facebook posts and save them significant money. 50:08
food-plot-seed
- Don found a retail quarter-acre soybean bag containing just 10 unremarkable, untreated pounds priced at $39.99. 47:51
food-plots
- Don says the more a landowner diversifies food sources on a property, the better off the deer herd will be. 21:54
- What percentage of Don’s hunting time is spent near food plots versus natural funnels, and how do food plots factor into his strategy? 56:54
glyphosate
- Do deer avoid food plots after spraying them with glyphosate, and are there long-term health effects for deer from glyphosate exposure? 18:02
hunting-pressure
- Terry argues hunters can accommodate multiple people or kids on a property with minimal intrusion if they stay disciplined about access. 63:57
lesters-feet
- Terry announces the Lester’s Feet raffle raised over $380,000 this year. 25:15
personal-news
- Terry announces he has officially resigned and retired as a softball coach after twenty years. 27:35
product-testing
- Terry says Real World is testing new nutrition products this year and will keep a close eye on trail cameras to track results. 11:45
public-land
- Would Don shoot an unfamiliar three-and-a-half-year-old buck on public land rather than risk another hunter taking him? 78:36
rainfall
- Don reports his area received three rains totaling over four inches after the fourth of July, ending a drought and causing plots and crops to grow quickly. 1:23
scent-control
- What is Don’s opinion on drag rags, are they truly effective, and how can hunters hide their scent trail while using one? 33:28
seminars
- Don announces all his upcoming seminars will focus on the topic of Ultimate Whitetail Nutrition. 68:51
soybeans
- Don notes that soybeans emerging through sprayed dead vegetation get browsed less heavily because deer must dig through the residue to reach them. 16:03
- Don says the soybean seeding rates he’s previously recommended, 50 to 60 pounds per acre, could be increased significantly based on what he’s observed. 44:14
- How do Real World Gen-two beans compare to regular ag beans during early growth, and are they more attractive? 42:35
tillage-radish
- Terry explains tillage radish roots pull nutrients up from the hard pan and deposit them near the surface as they decompose. 15:17
trail-cameras
- Don has 36 trail cameras deployed across 24 properties, including one tract of public land, as he searches for a big buck. 10:13
- Terry has five trail cameras on his home farm and three on a permission property so far this season. 10:29
wheat
- A local farmer told Don he already contracted about 20,000 bushels of wheat at $11 a bushel given record-high wheat prices this year. 6:16
- Don predicts the widespread wheat planting this fall will benefit deer hunters by creating abundant green food sources across the countryside. 7:01
whitetail-master-academy
- Don plans to launch a subscription website called the Don Higgins Whitetail Master Academy around September 1 with free and paid video content. 52:34
Deer activity
Listener questions
Question: Do deer avoid food plots after spraying them with glyphosate, and are there long-term health effects for deer from glyphosate exposure? 18:02 — asked by Brian Byers
- Answer: Don says deer can tell the difference between genetically modified and non-GMO plants and prefer non-GMO every time, though most available soybeans are GMO. 20:24
Question: What is Don’s opinion on drag rags, are they truly effective, and how can hunters hide their scent trail while using one? 33:28 — asked by Kendall Yoder
- Answer: Don says he never once had a deer follow a drag rag’s scent trail despite trying it many ways when he was younger. 34:01
Question: How do Real World Gen-two beans compare to regular ag beans during early growth, and are they more attractive? 42:35 — asked by Eric Perry
- Answer: Don says Gen-two beans are absolutely more attractive than typical ag beans during the green growth stage. 43:08
Question: What percentage of Don’s hunting time is spent near food plots versus natural funnels, and how do food plots factor into his strategy? 56:54
- Answer: Don explains food plots mainly work by creating predictable travel patterns, dictating which direction deer move to feed morning and evening. 57:30
Question: Would Don shoot an unfamiliar three-and-a-half-year-old buck on public land rather than risk another hunter taking him? 78:36 — asked by Daniel Brennaman
- Answer: Don says if a 200-plus-inch buck shows up anywhere he’s hunting, he is shooting it regardless of known history. 78:53
Don and Terry covered food plot strategy and habitat updates. Don reported over four inches of rain after the fourth of July ended a drought and jump-started plot and crop growth, and noted a local farmer had already contracted about 20,000 bushels of wheat at $11 a bushel, predicting widespread wheat planting would benefit hunters with abundant fall green food. Don recommended planting Deadly Dozen ahead of no-till soybeans, said his previous seeding rate advice of 50 to 60 pounds per acre could be raised, and argued diversifying food sources improves herd health. Terry described tillage radish roots pulling nutrients toward the surface. Listener questions covered glyphosate’s effect on deer, drag rag effectiveness, Real World Gen-two beans, and food plots’ role in creating predictable travel patterns. Terry also announced retiring after twenty years of softball coaching and a Lester’s Feet raffle total over $380,000.
Unofficial fan project. AI-synthesized from public episodes; may contain errors.