Episode #127 When to Plant Fall Food Plots?

Published: 2022-07-25
Episode page
Duration: 78 min

In this episode

amish

• Terry said he has come to deeply respect the Amish and Mennonite community, especially how families and the wider community hold each other accountable. 17:42

antler-growth

• Tim Henrich asked when antlers finish developing, how long they take to solidify after they stop growing, and whether a velvet buck peaks by early August. 61:55

asio-gear

• Terry announced ASIO Gear, run by Joe Miles, is running or about to run a sale on early and mid-season camo that he and Don have been wearing. 19:05

broadheads

• Don said he is against mechanical broadheads, believing he would have wounded and lost several bucks, including this one, had he used them instead of fixed blades. 71:37

credibility

• Don said people should show the actual bucks they’ve killed using their own methods before others take their deer-management advice seriously. 48:13

deer-lures

• Don said Smokey collects gland-lure glands from deer at a processing plant in Ohio that processes around 9,000 deer a year. 58:25

deer-scent

• Chris Lovely asked what Don and Terry think about deer urine and scents collected and made straight from a deer farm. 55:39

doctor-strickland

• Terry observed that despite differing approaches, Don and Doctor Strickland work closely together, respect each other, and still get along, calling that unheard of. 48:32

fall-planting

• Don’s rule of thumb is to plant fall food plots forty-five to fifty days ahead of the typical first frost date. 23:10
• Don said properties along Interstate 70 (Columbus, Indianapolis, St. Louis) should plant fall plots around September 1, moving the date a week earlier for every 100 miles north. 23:29
• Don warned that planting fall plots too early makes plants overly mature and less palatable, so deer browse them less. 24:12
• Terry planned to plant a fall food plot where his sweet corn had been once it’s harvested this week, even though the plot isn’t in a spot deer frequent. 32:14
• Terry plans to terminate a food plot where his planter product underperformed and replant it as a fall plot. 32:29
• Terry said once rain is in the forecast in late August, he plants immediately, since fall food plot timing must be planned around rain. 33:08
• Terry warned that a light pop-up thunderstorm right after planting a fall food plot can cause seeds to swell and crack, then die in extreme heat before establishing. 33:58

fatherhood

• Don reasoned that because Amish fathers stay home and discipline their children, teaching them right from wrong, there are no gay Amish people. 7:01
• Don urged young men going through divorce or custody disputes to put their child first rather than their own grievances. 12:34

fetal-programming

• Don explained fetal-programming benefits: does feeding on a balanced-diet plot like Deadly Dozen enter the rut in noticeably better shape. 31:45

food-plots

• Don said a failed spring food plot can still be cleaned up, sprayed, and tilled in time to plant as a fall plot instead. 21:34
• Terry recommended mixing a bit of any local soybeans into a fall plot, since the first soybean sprouts act as a strong deer magnet. 26:29
• Don recommended a seeding rate of 10 to 20 pounds per acre for soybeans mixed into a fall plot, cautioning against using too many. 26:46
• Don noted soybeans mixed into a fall plot will compete only briefly and are killed off entirely once the first frost hits. 26:56
• Don agreed with seminar speaker Ray Reeves that fall plots should avoid monoculture and instead mix several plant species together. 28:12

forgiveness

• Don asked listeners to pray for the person who posted critical comments on his social media rather than firing back at him or his family. 13:42

hunting-advice

• Don joked that bad advice tells hunters to stomp through the woods like a drunken fool and climb fast to bag a king buck within ten minutes, calling it nonsense. 46:41 (light moment)

mail-in-questions

• Terry announced the podcast opened a mail-in question option through the office for Amish and Mennonite listeners without internet access. 54:24

prank

• Terry recalled jokingly convincing a listener that buck age could be told by the distance between its butthole and scrotum, prompting him to reverse his trail cameras. 61:08 (light moment)

seminar-tour

• Don spent twelve days touring Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York, Maine, and Vermont doing nine seminars for Real World Wildlife Products dealers, valuing the chance to meet dealers face to face. 1:32
• While on tour Don spoke with Lincoln Ron Drone, owner of Packer Max cold packers, about fatherhood and staying active in kids’ lives after divorce. 8:20

shoutout

• Don gave a shoutout to Brock Rowe and Jeremy Hicks, New York State troopers and former military, met at the first Bordeaux Brothers event in Canton, New York. 2:48

social-media

• Don said he reciprocates respect shown to him but is bothered by people who make videos mocking his social media posts. 48:59

southern-indiana

• Terry said after seeing excellent corn and bean fields in Southern Indiana, he might go knocking on doors there for new business. 75:34

stand-hunting

• Don countered that repeated-stand hunting studies must account for access, since good access allows daily hunting of a stand while poor access limits it to a narrow window. 45:31
• David Campbell asked how Don’s low-pressure, minimal-intrusion approach squares with Doctor Strickland’s advice to hunt the same stand five or ten times until an opportunity arises. 37:52

supplemental-feeding

• Alan Miller asked whether a deer fed mineral-mixed supplemental feed keeps eating it after meeting its mineral needs, or stops once it’s satisfied. 49:26

test-corn

• Terry said their test corn product is growing at least a foot to eighteen inches taller than Nutri-Crave Corn on both their farms. 74:55

trail-camera

• Terry asked how to tell from trail-camera photos whether a buck’s antler tine tips indicate the antlers are done growing or still have more to go. 65:23

whitetail-master-academy

• Don said his twelve-day trip generated fantastic new video ideas for the Whitetail Master Academy. 47:21

winter-feeding

• Terry recommended a backup winter feeding plan, such as supplemental feed or bait, to give deer a food source from January through early March before green-up. 30:35

Deer activity

• Trump (hunt) 39:51
• unnamed buck (history) 40:49
• Joey Buck (hunt) 59:02
• unnamed buck (harvest) 66:51
• fork tine buck (history) 68:54
• unnamed buck (history) 72:52

Listener questions

Question: David Campbell asked how Don’s low-pressure, minimal-intrusion approach squares with Doctor Strickland’s advice to hunt the same stand five or ten times until an opportunity arises. 37:52 — asked by David Campbell

• Answer: Don said hunters with decades of experience and mature bucks on the wall would agree the first hunt on a particular stand offers the best odds, though unique bucks like Trump were exceptions. 39:18
• Answer: Terry clarified that Doctor Strickland studies deer movement broadly at a macro level, while Don hones in on the specific pattern of an individual target buck. 44:12

Question: Alan Miller asked whether a deer fed mineral-mixed supplemental feed keeps eating it after meeting its mineral needs, or stops once it’s satisfied. 49:26 — asked by Alan Miller

• Answer: Don said a deer will likely eat as much supplemental feed as it wants, then visit a mineral lick separately to make up any remaining deficiency. 50:51
• Answer: Terry said intake fluctuates with available natural food like acorn drop, but mature bucks at his feeder eat the supplemental feed year-round. 52:27

Question: Chris Lovely asked what Don and Terry think about deer urine and scents collected and made straight from a deer farm. 55:39 — asked by Chris Lovely

• Answer: Don said he believes gland-based lures, not urine-based ones, work best, comparing it to trappers who rely on gland lures rather than urine to attract coyotes and foxes. 57:50

Question: Tim Henrich asked when antlers finish developing, how long they take to solidify after they stop growing, and whether a velvet buck peaks by early August. 61:55 — asked by Tim Henrich

• Answer: Don said in his captive-deer experience some bucks finish antler growth by early July while others keep growing into mid-August. 63:18
• Answer: Don added that regardless of growth timing, his captive bucks all tended to shed velvet around the same week each year. 63:45

Question: Terry asked how to tell from trail-camera photos whether a buck’s antler tine tips indicate the antlers are done growing or still have more to go. 65:23

• Answer: Don said pointed, sharp tine tips mean growth is essentially finished, while rounded, dark tips mean the antlers still have considerable growing to do. 65:35

Sponsors this episode

• QuietKat

Don recapped a twelve-day tour through Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York, Maine, and Vermont running nine dealer seminars, which he said sparked new video ideas for the Whitetail Master Academy. Most of the episode centered on fall food plot strategy: cleaning up and replanting failed spring plots, timing plantings forty-five to fifty days before first frost, adjusting by region along Interstate 70, mixing in soybeans at a modest seeding rate, and avoiding monoculture. Terry described his own plans to replant a sweet corn plot and an underperforming plot, and stressed planting around rain forecasts. Listener questions covered reconciling Don’s low-pressure stand approach with Doctor Strickland’s repeated-stand advice, mineral versus supplemental feed intake, deer-farm scents versus gland lures, and antler growth timing and tine-tip cues. Don also discussed fatherhood conversations from the tour, asked listeners to pray for a social media critic, and referenced the Trump buck hunt and a 171-inch farm buck.

Unofficial fan project. AI-synthesized from public episodes; may contain errors.